Published: Mar 27, 2025, 11:16 AM (IST)
Edited: Mar 27, 2025, 11:20 AM (IST)
Shubman Gill’s IPL 2025 campaign has started off to a disappointing start. His team, the former IPL champions Gujarat Titans (GT), suffered an 11-run loss to Punjab Kings (PBKS) on Tuesday, failing to chase down a target of 244.
Former India’s cricketer Virendra Sehwag criticised Gills’s leadership tactics in the first match against PBKS. Sehwag was unhappy with the bowling changes particularly Mohammed Siraj. He was surprisingly pulled out of the attack after just two overs, having given away only 14 runs.
“I thought that Shubman Gill’s captaincy wasn’t up to the mark, he wasn’t ready, he wasn’t 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,” Sehwag said on Cricbuzz
“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. So that proactive was missing like while using a bowler.” Sehwag added
Gill reflected on his team’s loss in the opening game against PBKS in Ahmedabad that Gujarat had their moments but failed to sieze the crucial moments.
“We got our chances when we were bowling and batting. Too many runs we conceded in the back end of the innings…Those three overs in the middle, we scored around 18 runs. That, and our first three overs we didn’t score many runs. That cost us the game,” Gill said after the game.
Gill found positives in the the team performance, despite the loss “Apart from that, many positives for us today. Not easy for someone to come and deliver those yorkers for someone who is on the bench. It’s always a good wicket to bat on here,” Gill added.
Shubman Gill and team will now look to bounce back in their next match against Mumbai Indian on March 29 in the Narendra Modi Stadium.
