Ahmedabad: Shubman Gill on Thursday said he has nothing to prove in the upcoming IPL after being dropped from the Indian team leading into the 2026 T20 World Cup.
Gill was the India vice-captain in the shortest format but was dropped to accommodate Sanju Samson in the top-order. India went on to win a record third title.
Gill captains the Indian Test and ODI teams besides leading Gujarat Titans in the IPL.
“Not at all, sir. I think if you look at the past three or four seasons, I think I have the most runs in IPL. So I don’t think I don’t have anything to prove in this season particularly.
“And the four years that I’ve played for this team, I think we have done decently well as a team. And I think I’ve done decently well as a batsman. So I don’t think I need to prove to anyone, my worth,” said Gill in the pre-season conference here when asked if he had a point to prove after the World Cup snub.
Gill on Wednesday became the latest Indian cricketer to criticise the Impact Player rule in the IPL, saying “it takes the skill out of the game”.
The other Indian players who have expressed their concerns over the rule include Rohit Sharma, Hardik Pandya and more recently Delhi Capitals’ skipper Axar Patel.
In the IPL captains meeting in Mumbai on Wednesday, majority of the leaders including Gill had sought a review of the rule that BCCI introduced in 2023 before extending it at least until 2027.
A day later Gill did not mince his words when asked about his thoughts on the Impact Player rule, which allows teams to play an extra batter or bowler in any stage of the game.
“Personally for me, I don’t think there should be an impact player. I think cricket in general is an 11 players’ game and on wickets where we play on the grounds that we play, adding an extra batsman is I think it takes the skill out of the game,” said Gill, who leads India in Tests and ODIs. There’s a certain skill in the game that you need to have. When you have a certain amount of batters and if a couple of your batters get out, there’s an amount of skill that you need to have to still get the scoreboard moving and get your team to a
good score.”