Gujarat Titans (GT) skipper Shubman Gill’s decision-making during their 2025 Indian Premier League (IPL) match against the Punjab Kings (PBKS) was criticized by former India opening batsman Virender Sehwag. The 2022 IPL winners had a rough start to the season on Tuesday, March 25, losing by 11 runs at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad.
After choosing to bowl first at their home ground, GT was thoroughly thrashed by the PBKS hitters. As the runs continued to come in, Shubman Gill was unable to slow down the opposition’s momentum. Before Shreyas Iyer (42-ball 97) and Shashank Singh (16-ball 44) took over, Priyansh Arya (23-ball 47) got off to a strong start.
With the exception of Sai Kishore, every GT bowler finished with an economy rate of more than 10. Both spin wizard Rashid Khan and the recently formed pace three of Mohammed Siraj, Kagiso Rabada, and Prasidh Krishna were ineffectual. PBKS crushed 243-5, the most runs they had ever scored in an IPL first innings.
Gill was criticized by Virender Sehwag for removing Siraj off the attack far too early in the powerplay and for not making the right bowling adjustments.
“I thought that Shubman Gill’s captaincy was not up to the mark, he was not ready, he was not proactive. When Siraj was bowling well, he brought on Arshad Khan, who I think conceded 21 runs in the powerplay, and that over changed the momentum. If Siraj is bowling well with the new ball, there is no point holding him back for the death overs, and you see he also got hit in the end.”
Virender Sehwag
“A captain should have the proactive-ness to know that if one of his bowlers is doing well, he should have an extended spell.”
Virender Sehwag
On his GT debut, Siraj had given up 14 runs in his opening two overs. However, captain Gill gave the ball to left-arm bowler Arshad Khan rather than bowling a third consecutive over to extend his term with Kagiso Rabada.
Despite having the fresh ball to maneuver about, PBKS starter Priyansh Arya did not spare the young player. To establish the team’s dominance in the powerplay, the rookie hit four boundaries in the over.
Shubman Gill Regrets Missed Chances as GT Falls Short Against PBKS
Shubman Gill is accustomed to being captain by this point. He captained both Team India in the T20I series against Zimbabwe and GT in the 2024 IPL. He has since been promoted to the position of vice-captain in the ODI setup as well.
With a rapid 14-ball score of 33, the opening batsman attempted to make an impression during the uphill run chase but was dismissed by Glenn Maxwell in the last over of the powerplay.
Gill blamed the loss on the period between the 16th and 18th overs and bad fielding. Impact Player Vijaykumar Vyshak was introduced during the three-over period, during which GT could only muster 15 runs.
“We got our chances when we were bowling and batting. Conceded too many runs at the back end, we let ourselves down with the fielding. Too many misfields and dropped catches. Matter of chases in such games. Those three overs in the middle we scored around 18 runs. We didn’t score as many in the first three overs. That cost us the game,” Gill said during the post-match presentation (via Cricbuzz).
Shubman Gill
On Saturday, March 29, GT will play the Mumbai Indians (MI) at the same location.
