Gujarat Titans have finalised their list of retentions ahead of Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025 mega auction and Shubman Gill will continue to lead the side in the new cycle. In an interesting development, Gill has agreed for lesser pay to allow the 2022 champions to retain their core group of players and go into the mega auction with a substantial amount in the purse.
They are likely to retain as many as five players, including Gill, and the captain’s agreement to take a step back on the payscale has made that move possible as they are now set to keep the services of star spinner Rashid Khan, who has been with them since the team’s first season in 2022. It is understood that Gill had no second thoughts on the consensus as he is focussed on building the squad for the future, and didn’t want the franchise to burn a hole in their purse.
“Shubman Gill has taken this step for the franchise as he wanted GT to enter the auction with as much money in the purse as possible. There were plenty of talented players in the existing pool and the captain taking a paycut has allowed the franchise to retain a lot of them. At such a young age, Gill has already started thinking as a leader and is in constant discussions about the mega auction, and the road ahead,” says a source close to developments.
Gill took over as captain when Hardik Pandya was transferred to Mumbai Indians ahead of the 2024 edition. While the side didn’t enjoy the success they did in the first two seasons, Gill made an impression in his debut stint as captain of a IPL franchise. The men who matter in the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) were keeping a close eye on how he went about the captaincy business and the 25-year-old was soon elevated as India’s vice-captain in ODIs and T20Is.
GT finished eighth in Gill’s first season as captain but it was more because of the lack of balance in the XI as they found it hard to fill the void left by Pandya, and there wasn’t much bite in the pace attack in absence of an injured Mohammed Shami.
The deadline for franchises to submit their list of retained players is just 24 hours away now and many prominent names are expected to enter the auction pool. The Indian cricket board is yet to announce the date and place of the auction but it’s highly likely to take place overseas in the last week of November.