Shubman Gill, the promising Indian batter and captain of Gujarat Titans, has faced a dip in form in the ongoing IPL 2024 season. Despite a strong start, Gill has struggled to maintain consistency, with his last significant score of 50+ runs coming on April 10 against Rajasthan Royals. Since then, he has been dismissed for single-digit scores on three occasions.
Gill’s struggles have raised concerns, especially considering his omission from the T20 World Cup squad. However, former India opener Virender Sehwag has expressed confidence in Gill’s ability to bounce back. Sehwag believes that Gill should draw inspiration from legendary batsmen like Sachin Tendulkar, Rahul Dravid, Sourav Ganguly, and VVS Laxman, who never allowed a dip in form to derail their careers.
“He should focus on scoring runs at a good strike-rate so he doesn’t get replaced,” Sehwag advised. “He has to learn from the greats who never gave a reason to get dropped.”
Gill’s struggles have coincided with Gujarat Titans’ poor performance in IPL 2024. The team, which won the title in 2022 and finished runners-up last year, currently languishes at the ninth spot in the table with just four wins from 11 games.
One of the Titans’ major weaknesses has been their performance during the Powerplay, particularly with the bat. Against Royal Challengers Bengaluru on Saturday, they posted the lowest Powerplay total of any team this season, scoring only 23 runs. Their Powerplay run-rate of 7.54 and strike-rate of 118.43 are the lowest among all teams in IPL 2024.
Addressing their underwhelming performance in the Powerplay will be crucial for the Titans if they are to salvage their season and make a late push for a playoff spot.
