India Test and ODI captain Shubman Gill is still a “work in progress” as a leader and will get better with experience, his Gujarat Titans team head coach Ashish Nehra said on Monday.
Nehra and Hardik Pandya forged a highly successful captain-coach partnership after joining forces when Gujarat Titans entered the IPL in 2022.
They guided the franchise to the title in its debut season and took it to the final again in 2023.
Pandya’s departure paved the way for Gill to take over as GT captain, and the youngster led the side to a runners-up finish in the last IPL season.
‘Shubman is a Little Reserved, a Little Shy’
“They are very, very different. You are talking about north pole and south pole. Both of them were like me, not somebody who has done much coaching,” Nehra said, comparing Pandya and Gill.
“Both of them were not somebody who has done much captaincy, but you learn on your way forward, and suddenly somebody is pretty much doing captaincy for India in two formats. He is only going to get better.”
The former India pacer was speaking on the sidelines of the Cricket Association of Bengal’s (CAB) annual awards ceremony in Kolkata, where he was the special guest.
Nehra said Pandya was someone who completely “trusted” him and was always keen to learn, while Gill is “more reserved but equally eager to improve”.
“One thing is for sure: he (Pandya) completely trusted me, which was the perfect, perfect thing. He will always be keen to learn. He will always ask if something doesn’t go right or doesn’t go well. He is somebody you can have lots of conversations with.
“The other way around, Shubman is a little reserved, a little shy, but that’s okay. Everyone is different. There is no right or wrong. He (Gill) is someone who will not talk or have as many conversations as Hardik Pandya, but he is to the point. He is somebody who is very keen to learn and keen to observe.
“Of course, he is a work in progress. He is only 26-27, and it is not that he has been doing captaincy for so many years. It is only 1-2 seasons, and you learn things and you will get better.”