Shubman Gill, captain of Gujarat Titans (GT) has reportedly agreed to take a massive pay cut to be retained by the franchise ahead of the IPL 2025 mega auctions. Gill captained the Titans for the first time this season, and both he and the management are now looking to keep the core group of players.

The franchise's first retention would be top spinner Rashid Khan, followed by Gill, Sai Sudharsan, and two uncapped players, Rahul Tewatia and Shahrukh Khan.

Titans will also have the option of retaining another squad member via the right-to-match card at the mega auction next month. Gill is seen as a future leader in the Indian cricket setup.

"Gill has decided to take a pay cut to ensure the core players are retained and build a stronger team," an IPL source said.

Last year, Shubman Gill did not perform well as the Gujarat Titans' captain. The right-hander had a disappointing performance as team captain, as the squad failed to qualify for the tournament final for the first time under his leadership.  

Gill is the team's leading run-getter in the IPL, having scored 482 runs in 2022, 890 runs in 2023, and 426 runs in 2024.

As per the IPL retention guidelines released ahead of the mega auction, a team will lose Rs 18 crore from the increased purse of Rs 120 crore for the first player retained, Rs 14 crore for the second, Rs 11 for the third while for the uncapped players, a team will have to shell out Rs 4 crore each.

If a team retains five capped players, they will lose Rs 75 crore from the auction pot.

(PTI inputs)