Virat Kohli and Hardik Pandya snubbed as Shubman Gill names his 2 most influential captains

The clock is ticking and the wait is about to get over as one of the highly anticipated clashes in IPL 2024 between Gujarat Titans and Mumbai Indians unfolds tonight at the Narendra Modi stadium.

It will be interesting because Hardik Pandya will return to the stadium where he won his first IPL title as the captain and what kind of reception he will receive from the crowd there. It also becomes special because Shubman Gill will be captain in the IPL for the first time.

Having been appointed as Gujarat Titans skipper following the trade deal of Hardik Pandya heading back to Mumbai Indians, it will be Shubman Gill’s first major task in the leadership role. While many would argue that GT could have waited, others will claim this is the right time, and then there will be those who feel that it was bound to happen.

After all, no one can escape their fate and it will be a season where things for Shubman Gill will be clear, whether or not he can flourish as the captain. Ahead of his side’s clash against MI later tonight, the 23-year-old took time out to speak about his journey from a stadium intruder to an IPL captain.

Shubman Gill expresses gratefulness for being able to captain an IPL team from a stadium intruder

In a 2-minute long video interview uploaded on IPL’s official X handle, Shubman Gill expressed gratitude to be able to captain an IPL team after those childhood and teenage days when he used to intrude on stadiums. Gill spoke about how he and his best friends used to sneak into stadiums, jump from gates, and get chased by security guards.

All that he used to do because of his passion for the game. He remembers taking sneaking into stadiums and taking pictures with the likes of Kumar Sangakkara, Mahela Jayawardene, Sachin Tendulkar, and Brett Lee. He also was grateful for the way his career panned out and that he hopes to achieve more in his career.

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“I remember the first time I sneaked in, jumped off a gate, the security guards were chasing me and some of my best friends. We got pictures with Brett Lee, we met Sangakkara, and Mahela Jayawardene. Actually, MI was playing so I got pictures with Sachin sir as well.”

“So looking back at those memories and now captaining an IPL team, it’s been a great journey and very grateful for whatever I have achieved so far and hopefully I’ll do a lot more.” – Shubman Gill said in a recent interview with IPL.

Gill aiming to keep GT’s unbeaten record against MI intact

Speaking ahead, Shubman Gill spoke about MS Dhoni as his inspiration in terms of leadership and that he will be trying to use the things he learned from Rohit Sharma, the Indian captain under whom Gill has played most of cricket.

Then he said that playing against Mumbai Indians has always been his dream and now that he will captain against the 5-time champions, the magnitude of his dream has increased manifold. He highlighted Gujarat’s 100% win record against MI at the Narendra Modi stadium and that he hopes to keep it intact.

“It’s amazing you know, playing against MI who have been 5-time champions but playing them in Ahmedabad, we haven’t lost a match here against MI, so hopefully we are gonna continue the streak.” -Shubman Gill concluded.