Shubman Gill, who was dropped from the Indian side before the 2026 T20 World Cup, stated on Thursday that he has nothing to prove in the forthcoming Indian Premier League (IPL).
In the shortest format, Gill served as India’s vice-captain, but he was removed to make room for Sanju Samson in the top order. India won a record-breaking third title.
In addition to captaining the Gujarat Titans in the IPL, Gill also captains the Indian Test and ODI teams.
“Not at all, sir. I think if you look at the past three or four seasons, I think I have the most runs in IPL. So I don’t think I don’t have anything to prove in this season particularly.
“And the four years that I’ve played for this team, I think we have done decently well as a team. And I think I’ve done decently well as a batsman. So I don’t think I need to prove to anyone, my worth,” PTI quoted Gill as saying in the pre-season conference in Ahmedabad when asked if he had a point to prove after the World Cup snub.
In the IPL, Gill is a prolific scorer. He scored 650 runs the previous season, 426 the year before, and 890 in 2023.
“I think I need to do what I’ve been doing for the past four years. And as a team we need to be consistent, which I think we have been. If we continue doing that sooner or later, I think we will win that trophy once more,” said Gill.
When Hardik Pandya was captain, the Gujarat Titans won the IPL on their debut in 2022. Before the 2024 season, Gill replaced Pandya.
Gill stated that the team’s goal for the upcoming IPL season is to compete consistently across all venues and conditions.
“We want to win matches in different conditions. We don’t want to be a team that performs only on good wickets,” he said.
The majority of the team’s runs are typically scored by the top order, which consists of Gill, Sai Sudharsan, and Jos Buttler.
Head coach Ashish Nehra, who sat next to Gill, defended his middle order when asked about their over-reliance on the top three.
“I don’t feel that the middle order was collapsing. The top three, yes, scored a lot of runs and played for around 17–18 overs. That is why the team was in a strong position after 13–14 games. Yes, it was a disappointing end to the tournament.
” But because those three scored so many runs, the middle order faced very few balls, which is not easy. There might have been one or two occasions in those 14 games where the No. 5 or No. 6 could have finished the game but didn’t. But it’s not an easy situation,” said Nehra.
Gujarat Titans will play their first IPL 2026 match in Mullanpur against Punjab Kings on March 31.
