IPL 2024: GT coach Nehra throws weight behind new captain Shubman Gill, says he’s excited to watch him operate

Speaking to the media ahead of the 17th season that begins on March 22 in Chennai, Nehra said more than wanting Gill to succeed as a captain, he wants him to become a better person, a natural pathway to becoming a great leader.

“The whole of India, not only me,” Nehra said. “He (Gill) is that kind of player. He is someone who is looking to play and looking to do well in all three formats. So we, as a franchise, as a support staff, are really excited to help him grow as a person more than as a captain. If he grows as a person, then he will definitely be a better captain going forward,” the GT head coach added.

Addressing the elephant in the room regarding Gill being a rookie in the leadership group, Nehra backed his ace player to deliver in his maiden stint as IPL captain.

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Nehra said since ten teams play in this cash-rich league, several such instances of players not having enough captaincy experience doing well have been witnessed and will keep making headlines in times to come.

“And you know, Hardik also did not captain anywhere before he captained GT. Now there are ten teams. This is not the first example. You will see more and more people, you know, somebody like Shreyas Iyer, even Nitish Rana did captaincy for KKR.

So, this is a great experience for all these guys, and let’s see who capitalises on that and move ahead, again, first as a person then as a player,” Nehra explained.

GT behind Gill

Shubman Gill is one of the most promising batters across formats worldwide, let alone from India, and GT’s batting coach, Gary Kirsten, feels this will help him as a leader in the upcoming season. Kirsten added that coaches will assist Gill in getting the best out of his players while backing him to lead the team the way he wants.

“I think the leadership is going to be an important role for him, and I know he’s really keen to do the job, and we, as coaches, just need to assist him in making sure he’s getting the best out of his players and he’s leading the team appropriately, and in the way we want him to lead,” Kirsten said.

Kirsten heaped praises on Gill, saying, he’s determined but must accept the challenges that come his way.

“He’s a quality player. He’s a thoroughly nice person. He’s got massive motivation and determination as an individual, which we’ve seen when playing for India.

“But like any new leader, he’s starting from scratch, and he’s going to be met with challenges along the way, and we, as coaches, will just have to assist him along the way,” Kirsten said.

Meanwhile, GT will play their IPL 2024 opener against five-time champion Mumbai Indians on Sunday (March 24).