Shubman Gill: 'Don't think I have anything to prove this season'

Shubman Gill has had a rollercoaster ride when it comes to his place in India's T20I side, first finding himself out of the squad before returning to the team and being named as vice-captain for the Asia Cup, only to be dropped before the T20 World Cup 2026. However, the Gujarat Titans captain said he has nothing to prove in IPL 2026 and that his only personal goal at the moment is to lead his team to the title. He was also critical of the Impact Player rule, saying it is "taking the skill out of the game."

"I think if you look at the past three or four seasons, I think I have the most runs in the IPL. So I don't think I have anything to prove in this season particularly," Gill said at a press conference ahead of the IPL. "And the four years that I have played for this team, I think we have done decently well as a team. And I think I have done decently well as a batsman.

"So I don't think I need to prove to anyone my worth. I think I need to do what I have been doing for the past four years. And as a team, we need to be consistent, which I think we have been. And if we continue doing that sooner or later, I think we will win that trophy once more."

Gill made 650 runs in IPL 2025 to help Gujarat Titans make it to the knockouts, before they were beaten by Mumbai Indians. It continued Gill's excellent record in the IPL, with his tally of runs since 2020 unmatched by any other batter.

After that campaign and a successful Test tour of England as captain, Gill was recalled to the T20I squad as vice-captain, after more than a year out in the format. After the Asia Cup, he was part of a five-match series in Australia and played the first three of a five-match home series against South Africa, but after he failed to cross 50 after 15 innings in 2025, he was left out of India's squad for the T20 World Cup, which they went on to win.

"Honestly I am not the one to look too much into personal goals. I like to, whatever team I am playing for, whether it be for my country or for Gujarat, I like the team that I am playing for, I like them to win," Gill said. "And that is where my personal goal starts and that's where it ends.

"So for me, I think the goal doesn't change. Make my team win as many matches as possible. Obviously, as a team, when you are playing, if you are playing the IPL, you are playing to win the IPL. If you are playing a series, you are looking to beat the other team in the series. So those are the goals that I look forward for.

"My personal goal right now is obviously to win the IPL. Once that will end, obviously we are going to have some other tournaments within the team, so my personal goals would change into that. And that's how I like to look about my goals."

The Impact Player rule was introduced in the IPL in 2023 and is set to stay till at least 2027, but Gill is not a fan, saying the ability for a team to play an extra batter makes the game "more one dimensional" and "taking a little bit of the skill out of the game".

"Personally for me I don't think there should be an impact player. I think cricket in general is an 11-player game. And on wickets where we play, on the grounds that we play, adding an extra batsman, I think it takes the skill out of the game," Gill said.

"There is a certain skill in the game that you need to have. When you know you have certain amount of batters and if couple of your batters get out, there is an amount of skill that you need to have to still get the scoreboard moving and get your team to a good score. I think with that one extra player it's making the game more one dimensional and it's taking a little bit of the skill out of the game.

"Chasing 180 on a challenging wicket or 160 on a challenging wicket is for me personally way more exciting than chasing 220 on a flat wicket.

"So I mean it's going to be there till 2027. It's something that we also spoke about in the captain's meeting yesterday. And hopefully you know I understand it makes the game a bit more entertaining but let's see it's there, it's up to them, what the BCCI is going to... they are going to take their decision. But personally I don't like it that much."

GT begin their campaign on March 31 against last year's finalists Punjab Kings in New Chandigarh.