Shubman Gill takes cheeky dig at journalist, names opening partner for IPL 2026
Published - 26 Mar 2026, 08:48 PM | Updated - 26 Mar 2026, 09:42 PM
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Gujarat Titans (GT) skipper Shubman Gill makes a huge announcement ahead of the IPL 2026 season. In a press conference on March 26, the top order batter confirmed the opening combination of the team for the upcoming season.
Last season, GT looked impressive because of the batting performances by Sai Sudharsan. Will GT continue trusting in the batter for an opening slot for the IPL 2026? The question was directly asked to the Gujarat captain Shubman Gill.
Shubman Gill confirms his opening partner ahead of IPL 2026
Like the question, the answer also came in a direct, fluent way. Gill said that it will be wrong to demote a batter who won the Orange Cap in the previous IPL season.
So, the Gujarat Titans are likely to keep the opening pair of Gill and Sudharshan, which is commonly known as 'Sai-Su', in the upcoming Indian Premier League campaign. In the previous edition, Sudharshan registered a staggering amount of 759 runs in 15 matches, averaging 54.21 to become the best batter of IPL 2025.
We want this 𝙎𝙖𝙞𝙎𝙝𝙪 partnership again 🫶 pic.twitter.com/0e507DUsRX
— Gujarat Titans (@gujarat_titans) March 26, 2026
Sai Sudharsan ruled IPL 2025 with his individual batting skills
In the previous season, both Shubman Gill and Sai Sudharsan were firing all cylinders with their blades. Whilst Sudharshan registered 759 runs to become the top run scorer of the tournament, Gill finished in fourth place on the top run-scoring batters list with 650 runs in 15 matches for an average of 50.00. Gill was only behind Sudharshan, Suryakumar Yadav (Mumbai Indians) who got 717 runs, and Virat Kohli (Royal Challengers Bengaluru) who scored 657 runs in the campaign.
With the top-performing batters, the Gujarat Titans secured their place in the play-offs, but failed to reach the finals.
The pair of Shubman Gill and Sai Sudharsan produced multiple memorable partnerships for the Gujarat Titans
Gill and Sudharshan both share a strong bond on the pitch. They have founded some of the most elusive partnerships for the Gujarat Titans. In 2024, the pair of 'Sai-Su' registered a formidable partnership of 210 against the Chennai Super Kings, which is the highest partnership for the Gujarat Titans.
On May 18, 2025, they registered a 205-run partnership against the Delhi Capitals, which is the second-highest for the team. In the same season, they stitched 100-plus runs partnerships against Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) and Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) as well.
So, for obvious reasons, there is no need for the team management to break the partnership that has done well so far in the past. With the left-hand and right-handed combination, the opposing bowlers might have found it difficult to break the pair.
Unlike relying on fancy shots, both of them are known for technical batting skills. They will try to bring on another stellar season, as they will aim to make their way into the T20I set-up.
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