"DNA of greatness but..." - Aakash Chopra's sensational take on Shubman Gill's IPL leadership trial

Former cricketer Aakash Chopra feels that Shubman Gill has a significant chance to showcase his leadership abilities in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2024. Aakash Chopra said that Shubman Gill is the most important player for the Gujarat Titans (GT) in the IPL 2024.

The Gujarat Titans made their debut in the prestigious IPL tournament in 2022. All-rounder Hardik Pandya guided the team to the title victory in their debut season. The Ahmedabad-based franchise finished as runner-up in the subsequent season of the tournament.

However, the IPL 2022 champions traded Hardik Pandya to the five-time champion Mumbai Indians (MI) in November last year. Subsequently, the franchise management named Shubman Gill as the new captain for the upcoming season, replacing Hardik at the helm.

Shubman Gill dominated the previous season, securing the Orange Cap by scoring 890 runs in 17 innings with an average of 59.33 and a strike rate of 157.80. The right-handed batter notched up three centuries and four half-centuries, with the highest score of 129 runs.

Shubman Gill, My Rockstar Player – Aakash Chopra

In a video shared on his YouTube channel, Aakash Chopra highlighted that while Shubman Gill has proven himself as a talented batter, captaining presents a new challenge to him. Chopra stated that the team’s fate rests on the synergy between Gill and Ashish Nehra.

“Opportunity – Shubman Gill, my rockstar player, DNA of greatness. But this is going to be a new challenge as you will be playing as a captain now. All of us have seen that he bats well. You are making him the captain now because he is your most important player in that side, but can he captain that well?” Chopra said.

“I feel the Gujarat Titans’ captaincy strings are tied to Ashish Nehra. If that tuning is fine, which I feel will be the case, they will take the team forward. So Shubman Gill will have a huge opportunity as a captain,” he added.

Despite Gill’s lack of IPL captaincy experience, he assumed the leadership role for the Titans, following in Pandya’s footsteps. Pandya had also never captained an IPL team before joining the Titans. Head coach Ashish Nehra played a crucial role in the team’s success.

Umesh Yadav Has Been Almost Discarded – Aakash Chopra

“The same is the case with Umesh Yadav. Umesh Yadav has been almost discarded. No one was playing him and he has come to this team. The ball moves here under lights. He is a bowler who can pick up two or three wickets with the new ball and will do well under Ashish Nehra,” Chopra further stated.

“Mohit Sharma will take care of the death overs and Umesh Yadav will be handed the new ball. Who will bowl along with him, whether it will be Darshan Nalkande or Kartik Tyagi, so there is also an opportunity for another Indian seamer alongside Umesh Yadav,” he concluded.

Mohammed Shami has been ruled out of the upcoming season due to ankle surgery. Shami’s absence will be a significant setback for the team in IPL 2024. The team management might consider replacing him with Umesh Yadav in the playing XI.

Also read: Hardik Pandya doesn’t deserve any credit for Gujarat Titans’s accolades claims Aakash Chopra