South Africa batting great AB de Villiers feels that Gujarat Titans missed a golden opportunity by not giving the captaincy to Kane Williamson after Hardik Pandya joined Mumbai Indians for the next season.
The 2022 IPL champions decided to choose young batting sensation Shubman Gill as their next skipper after his excellent performances for them in the last couple of seasons.
The franchise has done well in their first two seasons as they reached the final on both occasions however, filling Pandya’s shoes as skipper is going to be a tough task for the young Gill.
De Villiers feels that GT had an opportunity to make an experienced player like Williamson to lead the side and give Gill a bit more time to cement his place across formats in Indian cricket.
“The minute I saw Kane Williamson’s name as a retained player, I thought there was a fantastic opportunity to give an experienced player who has done it before an opportunity to captain for you. Give Shubman Gill the opportunity just to cement in all the formats in Indian cricket and just to have another good season at the IPL,” De Villiers said on his YouTube channel.
Gill, who is touted as the next big thing in Indian cricket, was the leader run-getter in the last season of IPL where he scored 890 runs which included three centuries to win the Orange Cap. He played a pivotal role in Gujarat’s journey to the final where they lost to Chennai Super Kings earlier this year.
De Villiers further said that the decision to name Gill as the captain may pay off for the Titans but if they waited for one more season then it would have been great for him to learn from Williamson.
“They decided to throw him in as captain. It may pay off; I am not saying it is wrong. I am saying that it was a great opportunity for Shubman just to learn a little bit and know that the plan is for him to be captain in 2025. Nonetheless, I am excited to watch him perform and lead from the front,” the former RCB star added.
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