Both, Shubman Gill and Ruturaj Gaikwad, have led their respective sides to two wins and as many defeats in four IPL 2024 matches so far
The 2024 Indian Premier League saw a series of changes when it comes to captaincy. While the most controversial was that of Hardik Pandya succeeding Rohit Sharma at Mumbai Indians, the Chennai Super Kings also announced a day before the tournament that MS Dhoni would hand over the captaincy to Ruturaj Gaikwad. Additionally, Shubman Gill, the young Indian batter, also kickstarted his maiden season as captain for the Gujarat Titans.
Shubman Gill (L) and Ruturaj Gaikwad are leading their respective sides for the first time in their IPL careers this year(PTI)
Both CSK and GT have won two and lost as many in their four matches so far; in their clash earlier in the season, it was the Super Kings who emerged victorious with a comprehensive 63-run margin. However, despite Gaikwad’s CSK at a higher position (3rd) in the IPL points table than GT (7th), experts believe that Gill has been more impressive of the two.
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Former cricketers Virender Sehwag and Michael Vaughan were asked to select between the two based on their leadership in the season so far; while Sehwag stated that Gill doesn’t have “support,” Vaughan insisted that the GT captain also lacked two of his side’s main players from the last season in Hardik Pandya and Mohammed Shami.
“Shubman Gill. Unke paas kisi ka suppport nahi hai, vo khud captaincy kar rahe hain. Ruturaj ke paas toh fir bhi MS Dhoni hain (Shubman Gill doesn’t have anyone’s support, he’s leading the side on his own. Ruturaj Gaikwad still has MS Dhoni by his side),” Sehwag told Cricbuzz.
Vaughan, meanwhile, said, “I’ll say Shubman Gill. It has got to do with Hardik Pandya (departure of Hardik to MI). Obviously, he has moved on. (But) Mohammed Shami is not fit for his team, either. He has done a remarkable job so far, he looks a nice captain for the future.”
Gaikwad has also been relatively quieter with the bat; in four matches so far, the CSK captain has scored only 88 runs with an indifferent strike rate of 118.91. Gill, meanwhile, is currently ranked fourth among the highest scorers in the season, with 164 runs to his name at 159.22.
Finding the momentum
CSK and GT faced defeats in their last match of the season. While the Titans were blown away by a brilliant comeback win from Punjab Kings, courtesy of their uncapped Indian duo of Shashank Singh and Ashutosh Sharma on Thursday, the Super Kings conceded a disappointing six-wicket loss to Sunrisers Hyderabad the very next day.
Titans will now look to revive their campaign as they take on Lucknow Super Giants on Sunday; CSK, meanwhile, meet KKR a day later.
