By Sahil Kohli

New Delhi [India], January 20 (ANI): Gujarat Titans Chief Operating Officer Colonel Arvinder Singh backed Indian star batter Shubman Gill's captaincy in ODIs and added that his recent poor form in T20Is is just a 'hiccup' in his life as a cricketer.

After delivering a promising start as Test captain with a 2-2 draw against England in which he scored 754 runs, including four centuries, Gill has not been able to bring in that same form and leadership in white-ball cricket.

Speaking to ANI recently on the sidelines of his franchise's 'Junior Titans' programme, third edition, Arvinder said on Gill's captaincy, 'I think it is very, very early days to start passing judgment on his credibility as a captain. We need to give him more time. You see, it was just this year, just the last year, that he was captain for the first time in England. And everybody was talking about, you know, how weak the team is and how England is going to crush us, but you saw what the result was. I am sure you would agree that his captaincy played a big role in, you know, the series being drawn.'

Arvinder hailed Gill for showing the right doses of calmness and aggression as a captain when needed, and for commanding the respect of his contemporaries and seniors.

'I think what is more important for a captain is to be able to gain the respect of his contemporaries. Whether they are senior to him by virtue of having played earlier or somebody who's, you know, debuted after him. And I think that there is no doubt on the fact that he has the respect of his colleagues, his contemporaries and his peers. I do not think anybody doubts that part. I think it is too early to start passing judgment,' he added.

In ODIs, his side has lost both their series by 1-2 against Australia away from home last year and recently against New Zealand at home, with the latter marking the Kiwis' first ODI series win in India ever. He has not looked at his most fluent as a captain with a bat in hand, scoring 178 runs in six innings at an average of 29.66, with six fifties and a strike rate of over 91.

Since his return to T20Is as a vice-captain as well, Gill could muster just 291 runs in 15 innings at an average of less than 25 without a fifty at a conservative strike rate of around 137. His poor form led to him being dropped from the T20 World Cup squad, with wicketkeeper-batter Ishan Kishan getting the reward for his excellent domestic cricket run during Jharkhand's maiden Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy (SMAT) win.

But Arvinder is sure that the young batting superstar will repeat his batting heroics in the next IPL season, having been amongst the top five run-getters last year with 650 runs in 15 matches and six fifties.

'He is more than capable of doing it (staging a brilliant comeback in the shortest format). Hasn't he won an orange cap already? He's had the second-best season ever behind Virat (the 890-run season in 2023). Even last year, he scored above 600 runs. He has never had a season below 400 runs since being a part of our franchise. How many players scored over 600 last year? Not a lot.

'He has had one season better than the other. These are hiccups that happen. These are phases in a sportsman's life. Let us not forget it is a sport. It is not something that you can take for granted, alright, fine. You are going to have a fantastic next 10 games without any hiccups in between. It happens. It is sport at the end of the day. We have every right to question as a cricket-crazy nation because he has not performed well in T20Is. Even he has accepted it,' he added.

Arvinder also added that Gill is 'mentally very strong and far more mature than his age' and will answer his critics with the bat soon.

'At the end of the day, everybody wants to play for the country and do well. And obviously, when you are going into a World Cup, you want to put your best foot forward. If he's been left out of that, he has to work that much harder to get back into it. And I'm sure he will at some stage,' he added.

The COO also spoke about his team's fast bowling stocks, which were boosted by the addition of Rajasthan's Ashok Sharma, the joint-highest wicket-taker of SMAT 2025/26 with 22 scalps in 10 matches at an average above 15, and English pacer Luke Wood during last year's auction. The team already has a stacked bowling line-up with veteran Ishant Sharma, last year's 'Purple Cap' winner Prasidh Krishna, Mohammed Siraj, Kagiso Rabada, West Indies all-rounder Jason Holder and Punjab's right-armer Gurnoor Brar.

Arvinder said about the pace bowling group, 'I see no reason why we would even have any iota of a doubt about the credibility or the talent that is there from a fast bowling perspective in GT. That's only been further reinforced by Ashok and Wood, joining the bandwagon for the upcoming season.'

The franchise has also retained New Zealand batter Glenn Phillips, currently one of the most dynamic players around due to his excellent fielding, explosive batting, useful spin bowling, and ability to keep wickets. While he was ruled out of the last season due to injury, Phillips has not been a regular starter with his former franchises, Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) and Rajasthan Royals (RR).

On if he would be a crucial part of the playing XI this season, Arvinder said that while he does not see any reason why the New Zealander could be kept out, it is upto the captain and coach to decide.

'We like to back our players. So, if you have chosen to play 11, do give them time. And IPL is a long-term tournament. There are 14 games. So, Glenn would have found his place under the sun even last season. But unfortunately, he got injured. You know, going forward, what the composition of that playing 11 is, is a matter of, you know, how Ashish (Nehra, the head coach), Shubman, the coaching staff, what their feeling is in terms of what the best 11 for Gujarat Titans is going to be. I can assure you, it's not about individuals. It isabout the team as such,' he said.

'As a team, you want to put your best foot forward. Seeing what is the best composition rather than just individuals, because of their names. I have no doubt that in the next IPL, if you ask me personally, I see no reason why Glenn would not form part of that core team of 12 to 14 players that we actually play the IPL with,' he signed off. (ANI)