Shreyas Iyer and Shubman Gill (Image credit: IPL) NEW CHANDIGARH: The nets at the Maharaja Yadavindra Singh International Stadium on Monday told you all you needed to know if you were paying attention.Shubman Gill was there for over an hour. Unhurried, precise, his signature backhand flowing like something rehearsed in dreams. Kagiso Rabada came at him, then Mohammed Siraj, then Prasidh Krishna, and yes, there were occasional play-and-errors to remind you that he is, after all, human. But mostly it was Gill doing what Gill does: timing the ball in adorable fashion. As he moved into range, the intent was clear. The Gujarat Titans captain is not playing this IPL just to be consistent. He heard a noise.
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Gujarat Titans believe ahead of IPL 2026: ‘We are here to win, not participate’ Go Beyond The Boundary with our YouTube channel. SIGN UP NOW!Right next to those nets, Shreyas Iyer operated unfettered. No networks. Just open skies and balls disappearing into the stands with alarming regularity. A few of them landed in the middle of the watching journalists. Close shave. Shreyas hardly noticed. He’s back to what he came here to do: hit the ball very, very hard.Two doughs. Two captains. Both consistently, almost stubbornly, ignored by the national electorate. Tuesday’s IPL match between Punjab Kings and Gujarat Titans is in charge of men with something to prove.READ ALSO: PBKS vs GT – Team Prediction, Live Match, Pitch Report, Mullanpur Weather UpdateIyer’s story is the crazier of the two. He has now led three different franchises to the IPL final – Delhi in 2020, Kolkata to the title in 2024 and Punjab to the summit clash last season. Last year he scored 604 runs with a strike just north of 175, the best among the season’s top 10 players. Iyer last played a T20I for India in December 2023.The Punjab Kings will need no reminding of what their captain brings to the table. But they will have to provide the rest of the batting with him. “The level of play we saw from Shreyas (Iyer) with the bat last year was probably as good as he’s ever had in the IPL and I can just see his hunger burning in his eyes probably more than ever,” Punjab head coach Ricky Ponting said on Monday.Gill’s case is different in texture. His runs were never a problem. Since 2023, only Virat Kohli has scored more points in the IPL. The question has always been the strike rate, the intent, the willingness to go over the top early. Last season, a strike rate of 155 plus showed movement in the right direction.
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With the arrival of Matthew Hayden as Gujarat’s batting coach, the conversation around Gill’s sixes will only get louder.
