Kane Williamson Showers Praise on Gujarat Titans’ Skipper Shubman Gill Ahead of IPL 2025 Campaign

New Zealand’s Kane Williamson has thrown his full support behind Shubman Gill, praising the Gujarat Titans skipper ahead of their IPL 2025 opener against Punjab Kings. Having briefly played under Gill’s leadership last season, Williamson spoke highly of his clarity in communication and strong conviction, qualities he believes make for an excellent captain.

"He's a very well put together human," Williamson told ESPNcricinfo. "A great cricketing brain and cares about his team-mates. He's very sure on how he wants to go about his business, which I think it's a really strong leadership quality and quite infectious, so there's no surprises really that he's touted for leadership for some of the Indian sides in the near future." Gill, retained by Gujarat Titans for Rs. 16.5 crores ahead of the mega auction, has been entrusted with the job of leading the franchise for the second consecutive season. While his first stint as captain saw GT finish eighth – their worst performance in three seasons – Williamson believes he has the ability to bring back consistency. 

"He's got some really clear thoughts about how he wants to captain. And you know, that's important. You have some thoughts and you do it with conviction and you learn and you try and get better - and he's got all of that," Williamson said. "He's got that capability, and you see it in the way he plays, the way you can adjust from format to format, from Test cricket to T20 cricket. He's done it all at the highest level. So yeah, I think he's a special player and going to be a fine leader as well." 

Despite Gill’s potential, Williamson pointed out that leadership is just one part of the equation. The priority remains excelling in his role as a player, something Gill continues to work on, especially with India. Already serving as the ODI vice-captain, Gill’s growing responsibilities indicate that he is seen as a key figure in India’s future leadership group. Now, with a revamped squad and the experience of last season’s setbacks, Gill will be eager to steer Gujarat Titans back to the top and remind everyone why they were IPL champions in 2022 and finalists in 2023. 

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