Hardik Pandya's sudden move to Mumbai Indians from Gujarat Titans in an all-cash deal has ushered in an era marked by the emergence of a new leader at Titans in the form of Shubman Gill. Hardik has left big shoes to fill at Gujarat and hence the road ahead for a young Shubman is full of challenges.
Titans took to the social media platform 'X' formerly Twitter to share a video of Gill, narrating his thoughts on his new leadership role. "From a dreamy-eyed fanboy of the IPL to a captain of the Gujarat Titans! Aapdo Shubman is raring to own his latest designation! Hear his first words from a brand new chapter... #TitansFAM, ready for a new era of leadership? #AavaDe," Titans captioned the post.
While there are a lot of talks around Titans' punt on Gill and them trying to fast-track him into a reliable leader, it is not the first time the franchise has taken such a massive call. Hardik only had the experience of leading a team at the U-16 stage but Titans had no hesitation in appointing him the leader ahead of their inaugural season in 2022 - a decision that bore fruit.
Hence, the franchise didn't think twice before naming Shubman its new captain. "We all know captainship comes with a lot of things, and commitment is one of them. Discipline is one of them. Hard work is one of them. Loyalty is one of them," said Gill after being announced as the leader of the Gujarat side.
The Fazilka-born has a handful of leadership experience, having led Punjab in two T20s, India A in six List-A games and also led in four first-class games. Therefore, the 24-year-old is looking forward to learning from senior players within the Titans squad.
"We have great leaders in our team, be it Kane (Williamson) or be it Rashid (Khan) or be it (Mohammed) Shami, or even David (Miller), or even Wriddhi (Saha). So, I think it's gonna be great. And obviously, there are gonna be a lot of learnings along the way, which would be my experience as a captain. And I see a lot of people making great memories," he added.
