‘He's leading the team appropriately’ - Gary Kirsten lauds Shubman Gill’s abilities as GT skipper

The 17th edition of the IPL (Indian Premier League) is all set to kick off on March 22, and the tournament will see many changes being made to the various franchises. 2023’s finalists Gujarat Titans, will be without the services of Hardik Pandya, who led them to title glory in 2022, as Pandya was traded to his former franchise Mumbai Indians, in an all-cash deal.

Ahead of the new season, Gujarat Titans will take the field with star batter Shubman Gill as their skipper for the new season, and Titans’ batting coach Gary Kirsten recently came forward to laud Gill’s abilities as the skipper.

Kirsten opined that Titans’ support staff is trying their best to let Gill adapt to his new role and help him bring out the best in the squad. 

"I think leadership is going to be an important role for him and I know he's really keen to do the job and we, as coaches, just need to assist him in making sure he's getting the best out of his players, and he's leading the team appropriately and in the way we want him to lead," Kirsten was quoted as saying by IndiaToday. 

He's a quality player: Kirsten

Furthermore, Gary Kirsten heaped praise on Gill, lauding him for his batting abilities. It is worth noting that Gill had a dream run in the IPL 2023, scoring 890 runs with three centuries and four half-centuries to his name. 

"He's a quality player. He's a thoroughly nice person. He's got massive motivation and determination as an individual, which we've seen when playing for India. But like any new leader, he's starting from scratch, and he's going to be met with challenges along the way and we, as coaches, will just have to assist him along the way," Kirsten added.

Also read: 'I never tried to convince him to stay back' - Ashish Nehra on Hardik Pandya's move to Mumbai Indians

To kick off their IPL 2024 season, Gujarat Titans will face off against Mumbai Indians on Sunday, March 24, and the side will be keen on getting off to a good start.