Controversy brews as Shubman Gill's captaincy questioned

In a surprising turn of events, India all-rounder Hardik Pandya made a highly anticipated return to Mumbai Indians from Gujarat in December 2023. With this move, the 2021 champions found themselves in need of a new skipper, ultimately naming Gill as their new captain. This opportunity was seen as a chance for the young player to showcase his leadership skills and potential as a future captain of the Indian team. However, Gujarat's performance under Gill's captaincy was less than stellar, as they finished eighth in the table with just five wins in 14 matches. Despite this setback, Gill remained determined to prove himself and continue his growth as a leader.

Gujarat, on Wednesday, seemed to have dropped a subtle hint that they might be moving on from Gill for IPL 2025 and name a new captain. The post on X, formerly known as Twitter, read: "A clean slate. A new story." But that is not what sparked the speculation. The post also had a picture of Rashid Khan staring at the blank slate.

A look at Rashid Khan's captaincy credentials

Rashid captained only twice in his illustrious IPL career, both for Gujarat Titans. The first was in 2022 against Chennai Super Kings, which the team won, and the second in 2023 against Kolkata Knight Riders at Ahmedabad, the match that is otherwise remembered for Rinku Singh's last-over heroics against Yash Dayal, which they lost.

Overall, he led 67 times in T20 cricket across six teams, including the Afghanistan national team, winning 34 of those games. He also led his national team in ODI and Test format, implying that if GT do make the change, they will have an experienced captain leading the side in IPL 2025.

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