'Pandya completely trusted me, Shubman a little reserved': GT head coach Ashish Nehra compares their captaincy

Gujarat Titans (GT) head coach Ashish Nehra described India's Test and ODI captain Shubman Gill "a work in progress' as a leader. Nehra has worked with skipper Gill since Hardik Pandya's departure after two seasons to his boyhood franchise Mumbai Indians (MI). While Pandya won the Indian Premier League (IPL) title in his first season as captain, Gill came close to winning it earlier this year, eventually losing to Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) in the final.

Invited as a special guest at Cricket Association of Bengal (CAB) awards ceremony, Nehra was asked to compare Pandya and Gill's captaincy styles but the former India left-arm pacer said that the two are as different as north pole and south pole. However, he revealed that Pandya had complete trust him whereas Gill is shy and reserved and eager to learn. 

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"One thing is for sure: he (Pandya) completely trusted me, which was the perfect, perfect thing. He will always be keen to learn. He will always ask if something doesn't go right or doesn't go well. He is somebody you can have lots of conversations with," Nehra said as quoted by PTI.

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"The other way around, Shubman is a little reserved, a little shy, but that's okay. Everyone is different. There is no right or wrong. He (Gill) is someone who will not talk or have as many conversations as Hardik Pandya, but he is to the point. He is somebody who is very keen to learn and keen to observe.

"Of course, he is a work in progress. He is only 26-27, and it is not that he has been doing captaincy for so many years. It is only 1-2 seasons, and you learn things and you will get better."

But, Gill got the ODI and Test captaincy whereas Pandya was overlooked when Suryakumar Yadav took over after Rohit Sharma’s retirement. But, Pandya took over as MI’s captain and hasn’t delivered for them. His only high point as MI’s captain was the playoffs spot in the 2025 edition. In the IPL 2026, Pandya-led MI finished ninth on the points table, just above Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) on the basis of net run rate (NRR).

Gill, Pandya’s IPL captaincy records compared

Gill has led GT in 43 games, winning 24 and facing 19 defeats. Pandya at GT won 22 out of 31 games, losing only nine. After winning the IPL 2022, he led GT to the final in IPL 2023 where they lost to MS Dhoni-led Chennai Super Kings (CSK). As MI's skipper Pandya has lost 24 out of 39 games.

Gill makes GT home, will MI retain Pandya?

While Gill is set to get retained by GT, there is a question mark over Pandya’s MI future. In the past few months, there have been several trade rumours. But, a final decision on Pandya’s MI future is yet to be taken.