India Test and ODI captain Shubman Gill continues to impress fans and critics alike with his batting prowess in the Indian Premier League (IPL). The Gujarat Titans captain on Thursday played an elegant
37-ball 64 as he stitched a 125-run opening partnership with his partner in crime, Sai Sudharsan (84 off 53). Another half-century by Jos Buttler powered GT to a daunting total of 229/4 in their 20 overs. Chennai Super Kings, who were desperate to earn 2 points at the Narendra Modi Stadium to keep their hopes alive for the playoffs, could not match the batting Gill and his men had displayed. In the end, CSK fell short of the target by a huge margin as they folded for 140 inside 14 overs.
With GT already booked for the playoffs ahead of the encounter, Gill played his natural game and became the first batter this IPL summer to breach the 600-run mark, and grabbed headlines swiftly.
The conversation in cricket circles soon shifted to whether Gill was already a legend in the making, as supporters peeped the GT star batter’s regal batting records. Get this, since IPL 2020, two years after he made his 2018 IPL debut, Gill has never scored below 400 in a season. That’s consistency, dialled up to 11. He is the only third player in the IPL’s history to score 400 runs seven times in a row.
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To truly understand the scale of Gill’s epic rise in IPL, one has to look back at where he started.
Shubman Gill Makes IPL Debut
Gill was chosen by the Kolkata Knight Riders to join them in the IPL 2018 campaign, a franchise where he spent four formative years. In the first two seasons, Gill returned with 203 and 296 runs respectively before finally finding his footing in the ghastly year of the global pandemic. He scored 440 runs in IPL 2020 at an average of 33.84. He followed it up with yet another 400+ run season, accumulating 478 runs in IPL 2021, his final with the KKR franchise.
Gill’s Strike Rate On The Rise
A considerable uptick in Gill’s striking was witnessed from the 2022 season as he bettered his previous year’s 118.90 strike rate with 132.33 in IPL 2022. This was the year he made his Gujarat Titans debut. It was also the same year the franchise returned with a historic maiden triumph. He amassed 483 runs, with 96 being his highest score. Next year? He scored at an impressive 157.80 strike rate but this wasn’t even the best part.
Unstoppable Gill
Gill headlined the IPL 2023 campaign with a mind-boggling 890 runs. His batting average was just short of 60, and he struck as many as three centuries in a single season. Gill has four centuries to his name in his entire IPL career, for context.
101 vs Sunrisers Hyderabad: Gill announced himself as a century-maker in IPL on May 15, 2023, reaching three figures off just 58 balls in what was his maiden IPL hundred.
104 vs Royal Challengers Bengaluru: Four days later, on May 21, 2023, Gill went one better with an unbeaten 52-ball century that effectively ended RCB’s tournament.
129 vs Mumbai Indians: His biggest knock came in Qualifier 2 on May 26, 2023, a 60-ball masterclass that remains the highest individual score in IPL playoff history to this day.
GT Chief
Gill was tasked with leading the franchise starting IPL 2024, but had a dull debut as the captain of the Gujarat Titans. However, his bat continued to talk as he contributed 426 runs across 12 innings for his side. This year marked Gill’s fourth century during a match against the Chennai Super Kings that was historic for many reasons. Gill and Sai Sudharsan both slammed centuries on top, stitching a 210-run opening stand, tying the highest opening partnership in the IPL’s glorious history. Gill scored 104 off 55 balls, Sudharsan notched up a 51-ball 103.
The Rise Under Gill
Gill’s dominance as the opening batter helped Gujarat Titans to a third-place finish in the IPL 2025. He piled up 650 runs, a significant jump from the previous season. He averaged a handsome 50 while also striking briskly at 155.88. He played 15 innings.
The GT captain, in the ongoing season, has powered his franchise to their second consecutive IPL playoffs, after already having plundered 616 runs in just 13 innings. This year also marked the best strike rate in his IPL career, 161.68, a testament to his continued growth in confidence as a captain and a batting powerhouse. Apart from eying the Orange Cap at the conclusion of this season, Gill would also hope to bring his first IPL title as the GT chief.
Dominant Gujarat stay strong with 18 points (9 wins, 5 losses) to their name and are currently placed #2 below Royal Challengers Bengaluru.
