The Gujarat Titans couldn’t have had a better start to the IPL. One year they were champions, the next they finished second. However, IPL 2024 had a serious impact on them. While they are still in the race to qualify, another playoff berth will require a strong performance and a significant change in fortunes.
In an interview with Cricbuzz, GT Director of Cricket Vikram Solanki opens up about the season so far, the extenuating circumstances leading up to it, Shubman Gill’s captaincy and more.
Shami is a big loss for us
When asked what Solanki thinks about the compromise just before the season and Mohammad Shami’s injury, he said: When we came out of the auction, we were pretty happy with the players we got. I think the loss of Mohammed Shami was a big loss for us. This is very obvious. Since then we have had injury problems and it happens from season to season.
He further said that the management was not aware of the extent of Shami’s injury.
“Mohammed Shami is a big loss for us. The timing at which we were made aware of this or when it became clear that we would be without Mohammed Shami was not ideal. But that’s the case with injuries. There is never a right time for one of your key players to get injured. Coincidentally, just before the season, we finally came to know that Shami would not be taking part in this year’s IPL. We didn’t know the extent. We were aware of the injury but did not expect such an outcome.”
“He is an exceptional character, he is a great batsman,” says Solanki about Gill.
After Pandya’s departure, GT was faced with the task of selecting a new captain. It was the exceptionally clever batsman Shubman Gill who took over the role. About Gill, Vikram Solanki said, “I think he has given a good impression so far. “I don’t think that will affect his performance or anything like that… I think he is batting pretty well. I thought he played particularly well in some cases. He practiced just as much. We look forward to Shubman leading this team for the remainder of this tournament, and I’m sure it will only be a matter of time before you acknowledge that leadership can just as easily bring out the best in Shubman rather than dwell on it “Whether it’s too early or too late.”
He also added: “He is an exceptional character, he is an outstanding batsman. He is someone who thinks a lot about the game. All of these qualities speak of someone who you think will have a successful time as captain. We are looking forward to it.”
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