Gujarat Titans captain Shubman Gill emphasized that the skill of outsmarting opponents and tactical awareness are key factors behind his successful batting partnership with Sai Sudharsan and the team’s accomplishments in IPL 2025. The duo has accumulated 839 runs as an opening pair at an average of 76.27, including seven 50-plus partnerships, with their recent unbeaten 205-run stand against Delhi Capitals securing GT’s playoff spot.Gill and Sudharsan have demonstrated remarkable consistency, with three of their partnerships exceeding 100 runs. Their latest achievement came at the Arun Jaitley Stadium on Sunday, where they led Gujarat Titans to a commanding 10-wicket victory over Delhi Capitals.Go Beyond The Boundary with our YouTube channel. SUBSCRIBE NOW!“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 shared on JioHotstar’s Gen Bold.
Gill emphasized the importance of tactical awareness in modern cricket, particularly with the Impact Player rule. “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.“
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The captain acknowledged the team’s overall performance across all departments. “I think it’s been a collective performance. The way everyone is coming together and contributing in all aspects – that’s something we’ve done really well over the first three years, and I think that’s what has continued this season.”Gill also praised coach Ashish Nehra’s contribution to the team’s success. “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.”Who’s that IPL player?Gill also revealed an interesting connection between himself and Abhishek Sharma, who scored his maiden international century against Zimbabwe using Gill’s bat, a practice dating back to their youth cricket days.Gill shared the story behind this tradition: “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.”
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