Gill’s Captaincy Under Fire After Gujarat Titans’ IPL 2026 Opening Defeat
Shubman Gill’s Gujarat Titans lost their IPL 2026 opener to Punjab Kings by three wickets at Mullanpur on Tuesday — and before the dust had settled, questions about his captaincy were already flying.
GT posted 162/6 in 20 overs, with Gill contributing a measured 39 off 27 balls. It looked competitive. But Punjab Kings had Cooper Connolly. The 22-year-old Australian all-rounder came in and hit an unbeaten 72 off 44 balls to drag his side home in 19.1 overs and take the Player of the Match award.
The target was reachable. The decisions raised eyebrows. Aakash Chopra was pointed in his assessment afterwards. “Gill’s captaincy left a bit to be desired,” Chopra said, flagging that premier bowler Mohammad Siraj still had two overs in hand when the match ended. That is the kind of detail captains cannot afford to miss.
GT’s batting coach Matthew Hayden had spoken ahead of the tournament about Gill’s “clarity” and “swagger” as a leader developing game by game. Tuesday was a rough lesson. The season is long — but first impressions count.