Gujarat Titans skipper Shubman Gill on Thursday attributed the side’s terrific run in the ongoing IPL to head coach Ashish Nehra’s “excellent communication” with the players and said the former India pacer knew exactly how to build the team.
Winners of the 2022 edition when they were making their maiden appearance in the league, GT are currently on top of the points table with nine wins from 12 outings.
During an interaction with JioHotstar, Gill credited the former India pacer for shaping the team’s identity and empowering the bowling unit.
“I think Ashish Nehra had a clear vision when Gujarat Titans came in during the first year — he knew how he wanted to build the team and define player roles. His communication with the players, both on and off the field, has been excellent.
“There are always areas to improve, and the way he works individually with players — especially the bowlers — stands out.
“Many believe that the IPL is won by batters, but our ideology is different. It doesn’t matter how many runs you score if you can’t defend them. The way he guides the bowling unit has been a major strength for us,” he said.
Gill opened up on what makes his partnership with fellow opener Sai Sudharsan so effective.
As an opening pair in this IPL, Sudharsan and Gill have amassed 839 runs at an average of 76.27 with three century partnerships and four 50-plus stands.
“I think the way we bat is not exactly similar, but the left-right combination helps. We both run very well between the wickets, and we’re the kind of players who like to outsmart the opponent — including the bowlers,” Gill said.
“In T20 cricket, especially with the introduction of the Impact Player rule, that skill of outsmarting the opposition has declined a bit. But I think our team still does it really well.
“It’s easy to swing freely on good cement wickets, but real skill lies in reading conditions, assessing the situation, and consistently putting up fighting totals — that, I believe, is the key to our success.” Gill also shared how he fought with Sunrisers Hyderabad opener and good friend Abhishek Sharma over a bat during the IPL.
“It actually started back in our U-16 days. Abhishek began playing with my bat — there’s a story behind it. He was batting on 80 or 90 runs using my match bat, and I didn’t want it to break, so I asked him to return it.
“We ended up having a bit of a fight over that! But whenever he asked for my bat, I always gave it to him — and he scored a lot of runs with it,” Gill said.
