Shubman Gill's bat hasn't done much talking since returning to India's T20I setup.
Shubman Gill returned to India’s T20I setup after being named vice-captain; his bat has not done much of the talking. He has played some decent knocks but has lacked consistency while opening the innings for India in T20Is.
He has failed to replicate his form in other formats and in the IPL for the Gujarat Titans (GT) in T20Is, as he was dismissed for a golden duck in the second T20I versus South Africa and could only manage four runs in the five-match series opener in Cuttack.
The 26-year-old is receiving a lot of flak for his 263 runs in his last 14 games in the format, but GT head coach Ashish Nehra is "not worried" about the numbers and believes his captain will perform well.
"Look, the player you are talking about. If IPL were 3 weeks away, I wouldn't be worried. Because you are talking about the T20 format. And there are only 2 matches played with South Africa. If I am not wrong. And this is our problem. In such a fast-paced format, whether it is international cricket or IPL, if we start evaluating players like Gill after two or three matches, then it will be difficult.
You can remove Abhishek Sharma and Shubman Gill. You can open with Sai Sudharsan and Ruturaj Gaikwad. If you want to remove them, you can do it with Washington Sundar and Ishan Kishan. So, options are always there if there are talks about changing players after not good stats, but aise karege to bahut mushkil hogi," GT head coach Ashish Nehra was quoted as saying by the Press Trust of India.
In addition to Gill, Washington Sundar is another GT player who is generating a lot of news with his bat and ball exploits. The all-rounder is playing for India in all three forms after being retained by the team.
There were rumors that the young player was involved in a transfer agreement, but Nehra denied those rumors while praising the cricketer, who he believes will gain confidence after playing for India on a regular basis. Nehra believes he is still a work in progress and hopes the young man maintains his current level of performance and improves going forward.
"Washington Sundar, the kind of skill set he has... number one, for me, Washington Sundar is a batsman who can bat from 1 to 6, 7, or whatever number you want him to bat. He can bat that much. And now, as he is playing all three formats for India, he will gain more confidence. It also depends on the conditions. As I said, if there is a little help in the pitch, then Washington Sundar has the full package with both batting and bowling.
With the new ball, he has bowled very well from where he started his career. "So, it depends on how the team uses him. But overall, Washington Sundar, whether you talk about batting, bowling, or fielding, is a quick fielder and very deceptive.
He is not a finished product. The sky is the limit. He will get better from here. He is only 25-26 years old and has been in the system for so many years. So now his experience is coming in front of you. Because of the combination last year, he was not able to play that much. But next year, I hope he stays in form. Then you will see him playing more than last year," said Nehra.
GT will enter the IPL 2026 auction with a remaining purse of Rs 12.9 crores and only five available slots.