The two-time champion Kolkata Knight Riders released Shubman Gill prior to the IPL 2022 mega auction despite his solid play. The franchise favored Venkatesh Iyer over Gill after the former played a crucial role in qualifying the team for the 2021 championships. Later, the Gujarat Titans took advantage of the circumstances and signed Gill prior to the mega auction; the cricketer went on to win the championship in 2022 with Hardik Pandya’s squad.
Already in 2023, the 23-year-old has scored 851 runs in 16 encounters, putting him in the lead for the IPL Orange Cap. Scott Styris, a former New Zealand international, believes that KKR’s decision to release him in 2022 will go down as one of the most egregious errors in IPL history. Styris believes this because he has helped GT qualify for yet another IPL final.
Gill is still young and has the potential to become the ‘backbone’ of the Indian team in the future years, according to the 47-year-old.
Shubman Gill is still a very youthful man; he has a great deal of room for development in his game. Styris
The former New Zealand all-rounder also mentioned KL Rahul, who the Royal Challengers Bangalore team released. Scott Styris believes that the move was extremely costly for the IPL franchise. In addition to praising Shubman Gill for his IPL performances, Styris boldly predicted that the Fazilika native will become the backbone of the Indian cricket team in the future.
“I continue to believe that his release from KKR will be remembered as the greatest mistake a franchise has ever made. The only other batsman was RCB’s KL Rahul. There is, however, an age advantage in this case. Gill is still a youthful man, and he has a lot of room for improvement in his game, Styris stated to Jio Cinema.
“He will not only be the star of this GT team, especially after the next World Cup, but also the linchpin of this Indian team.” I believe he will accept this,” he continued.
Notably, following the conclusion of the IPL 2023, Gill will travel to England, where India will face Australia in the final of the World Test Championship on June 7 at the Oval. In the absence of KL Rahul, the cricketer is anticipated to open alongside Rohit Sharma, and given his current form, he can help India win their first ICC trophy in ten years.