"Shubman Gill needs a bit of time" - Umesh Yadav's blunt verdict on Gujarat Titans captain's leadership

Gujarat Titans pacer Umesh Yadav opened up on his franchise’s campaign in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2024. He said that it wasn’t a bad season for them but they could’ve done better in a few more games which they lost by a close margin.

After winning the IPL 2022 and making it into the final of the IPL 2023, Gujarat Titans didn’t have a great season in the IPL 2024. Under the leadership of Shubman Gill, who led a young team, they showed great promise but couldn’t make it into the playoffs of the season.

Coming into the IPL 2024, Gujarat Titans were marred by quite a few injuries. Mohammad Shami was ruled out of the entire tournament and apart from that few key players also struggled with their fitness throughout the entire tournament.

Also, Hardik Pandya, who captained Gujarat Titans for the last two seasons, moving to Mumbai Indians didn’t help either. The Shubman Gill-led side managed just 5 wins and ended 8th in the points table with 7 defeats under their belt.

Umesh Yadav, who was part of the franchise in 2024, admitted that they played well in patches but added that it was just a matter of two or three games for them. He added that the entire team learned from their mistakes and looked at the positives. Speaking to RevSportz, he explained:

“I won’t say it was a bad season, but we could have done better in two-three matches. Sometimes we batted well but bowling wasn’t up to the mark. Sometimes it was the other way around. But we are a young team and we suffered a couple of washouts also. I won’t say finishing with 12 points was very bad. It was basically a matter of two-three matches.

“The matches against Punjab Kings, Lucknow Super Giants and Delhi Capitals were close. Especially against Delhi, we lost by four runs. If we would have won two of those three matches, we would have been in the playoffs. Cricket is a game of fine margins. But we have learnt from our mistakes, taken the positives and we will move on.”

He needs a bit of time, but I think Shubman Gill has the potential to do well as a captain - Umesh Yadav

Umesh Yadav further talked about the experience of playing under young Shubman Gill. He stated that the GT skipper has the ability to do well but needs a bit of time. He also stated that Gill showed great stability in tough phases. He added:

“He (Gill) has the ability. It was very impressive the way he controlled the team despite being so young. He stayed calm under pressure. He needs a bit of time, but I think Gill has the potential to do well as a captain on the bigger stage as well. The big test for a captain is how he handles his team in tough phases. Gill showed stability.”

In the 7 games that Umesh Yadav played in the IPL 2024, he picked 8 wickets at an average of 26.25 and an economy of 10.