He is somewhat conservative

Former Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) and Mumbai Indians (MI) cricketer Parthiv Patel made a bold claim about Shubman Gill. Gill recently led India to victory (2-1) in the three-match ODI series against the West Indies.

Parthiv Patel reflected that Shubman Gill was slightly conservative in nature. That said, he added that Gill made the effort to be outspoken when he became captain of the Gujarat Titans (GT). The former RCB batter also praised Gill for his clarity of mind after being dropped from India’s T20I side.

“He is a little conservative. But if you want to captain, you have to be out there. Out there for the players also. That is the kind of effort you need to put in, and he has done that. I thought that he would want to prove himself after being dropped from the T20I side. But his thinking was like, if I have played 7-8 years of the IPL, why should I have the mindset that I have to keep proving myself constantly? That clarity is there,” he said in a podcast with Aakash Chopra.

After being dropped from the T20I side before the 2026 T20 World Cup, Gill smashed 732 runs from 16 games in IPL 2026 at an average of 45.75 and a strike rate of 163.02, with a hundred and six half-centuries. Parthiv joined GT as an assistant and a batting coach in IPL 2025. He described the change he saw in Gill as captain, how he conducted himself, and carried the team forward.

“Just the way he is as a person. I did not know what kind of a person Gill is until I joined GT. He is someone who always wants to do well. He is respectful, hardworking, and just the way he conducts himself. He has clarity of thought and looks to carry himself and the team. There is no in-between. There is a lot of improvement from when he started as captain,” the former RCB batter stated.

Gill led GT to the final in IPL 2026. He led from the front with the bat and also as captain. Unfortunately, his team ended up losing the final to RCB, who successfully defended their title.

Former RCB batter’s take on ‘Impact Player’ rule in IPL

The ‘Impact Player’ rule in the IPL has been a topic of intense discussion and debate. Parthiv Patel was against the rule, saying it was the main reason why India are struggling to find a replacement for Hardik Pandya at the moment.

The former RCB and MI batter also addressed the debate around GT not using Washington Sundar as a bowler and how the impact player rule influenced the decision.

“I am not a fan of the impact player rule. Hardik came in 2015. After that, we have been searching for a medium-pace all-rounder. We tried Dube, we tried Shankar, now we are trying Nitish. At least Nitish is bowling. But which batter is bowling in the IPL? Why is that not happening? Because the team is balanced due to this rule with an out-and-out bowler. The biggest debate is that Sundar does not bowl for GT. The reason is simple. We have Rabada, Siraj, Prasidh, Arshad, and Rashid. Five bowlers are done. If the impact rule is not there, only then will one of these sit out and then Sundar can bowl. Apart from that, Sai or Suthar are also playing. So where is the place for Sundar to bowl?,” the former RCB cricketer questioned.

Parthiv also added that the rule was affecting the quality of captaincy and not helping produce better captains. He reflected how captains have the luxury of bringing in an extra bowler and do not need to break their heads to get a few overs out of the fifth or sixth bowler, taking away the room for better planning.