Shubman Gill can be future leader for Gujarat Titans: Vikram Solanki

Vikram Solanki, the Director of Cricket for Gujarat Titans, heaped praise on Shubman Gill, saying the young opener has a smart cricket brain and he can be the leader of the 2022 champions in the future. Solanki, a former England cricketer, said Gill was part of the leadership group for the team in its inaugural edition last year.

Gujarat Titans's decision to hand Hardik Pandya the captain's armband in their inaugural season raised quite a few eyebrows as the star all-rounder admitted he hadn't led at the senior level before the IPL responsibility came his way. However, the decision turned out to be a masterstroke as Hardik, with able support from head coach Ashish Nehra, helped Gujarat Titans win the title in their first season after topping the table.

Shubman Gill was roped in as one of the marquee players for Gujarat Titans in IPL 2022. Gill shone with the bat, scoring 483 runs, including 4 fifty-plus scores, at a strike rate of over 135, which was a vast improvement from the previous two seasons.

Gill's rise in the last few months has been phenomenal.The young opener hit as many as 6 hundreds, including an ODI double hundred and a T20I hundred, in the last 4 months. The U-19 World Cup winner has cemented his place in the Indian Test and ODI sides in the crucial World Test Championship and World Cup year.

"Do I think that Shubman will be a leader in the future? Yes absolutely, but no decision has been made about that as yet. He has leadership qualities and is very mature who has an abundant amount of talent," Vikram Solanki said.

"He has a very smart cricketing brain and we will continue to have conversations with Shubman and invite his opinion on every decision we make."

Solanki added that Gill is already being seen as a leader in the side because of his professional approach and conduct.

Gill will play a more central role as Gujarat Titans will look to defend their title in IPL 2023. The defending champions open their campaign against Chennai Super Kings, 4-time champions, In Ahmedabad on March 31.

"Shubman is a leader in his own right for the simple fact that he takes on a lot of responsibility. In my mind, it is not important that you play with an asterisk next to a player’s name," Solanki added.

"Shubman adapted the leadership role last year, by his conduct, by the way he goes about, with his professional attitude towards the game."