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Elite cricketers never stop evolving. Sachin Tendulkar added the paddle sweep and upper cuts to his arsenal in the 2000s. He started to reverse sweep when the Indian Premier League (IPL) came into existence in 2008. They don’t adjust; they remain one step ahead of the curve. Shubman Gill’s going down his path.
Playing for the Gujarat Titans (GT), a team that relies on their top three for the bulk of the run-scoring, Gill has steadily improved his intent. In the last two seasons, his strike rate has increased by at least 10%. It’s truly remarkable how he’s managed to continue scoring 600 or more runs, all the while managing to take fewer balls getting there.
Shubman Gill ups his powerplay intent
Gill was brought back into the Indian team off the back of his IPL performances. He was never really dropped, but with the 2026 T20 World Cup around the corner, his consistent performances saw him return. However, Gill fell short on the strike rate front, falling to match Sanju Samson.
He was subsequently dropped for the T20 World Cup. For the first time, Gill was behind the curve. He realises that T20 cricket is moving in a different direction. You need to maximise the powerplay or else you’ll be lagging behind in the game. However, he didn’t go all guns blazing from the start of the IPL 2026 season.
Gill started in a familiar manner. But midway, with GT still far away from IPL 2026 Playoffs qualification, he realised it’s time to go harder in the powerplay. As the group stage ends for Gujarat, three of Gill’s last six powerplay scores are 43 (18), 32 (15), and 35 (18).
Shubman Gill powerplay strike rate in IPL 2026
- First 8 matches: 155 (98), strike rate of 158.16
- Last 6 matches: 134 (77), strike rate of 174.02
The GT captain didn’t go hard in the powerplay to return to the Indian team, but for GT. With Sai Sudharsan needing time to settle, Gill knew that he had to be the aggressor. One always knew Gill had the ability to blast away from the start, but was playing within himself because he was instructed or often forced to bat that way.
Now, he’s unleashed himself. One must remember that he wasn’t just brought back to the Indian team as the opener but as vice-captain as well. The selectors believed he could be the one to take over from Suryakumar Yadav. That remains on the card, especially considering how the orange cap holder has now upped his intent in the powerplay.
IPL 2026: Highest batting strike rate in powerplay (minimum 100 runs)
| Priyansh Arya | 136 | 294 | 216.2 | 36.75 | 27.2% | 28.7% |
| Vaibhav Suryavanshi | 180 | 426 | 236.7 | 71.00 | 32.8% | 20.0% |
| Abhishek Sharma | 156 | 343 | 219.9 | 57.17 | 28.9% | 25.6% |
| Shubman Gill | 175 | 289 | 165.14 | 72.25 | 35.0% | 33.8% |
| Devdutt Padikkal | 119 | 208 | 174.8 | 104.00 | 32.8% | 32.8% |
| Virat Kohli | 165 | 276 | 167.3 | 46.00 | 20.6% | 44.9% |
| Prabhsimran Singh | 156 | 260 | 166.7 | 65.00 | 36.5% | 30.1% |
| Yashasvi Jaiswal | 153 | 255 | 166.7 | 36.43 | 38.6% | 25.5% |
| Ryan Rickelton | 135 | 239 | 177.0 | 59.75 | 39.3% | 28.1% |
| Rohit Sharma | 101 | 165 | 163.4 | 55.00 | 36.6% | 30.7% |
The post Shubman Gill relaunches T20 career in IPL 2026 with more power in play after T20 World Cup snub appeared first on Inside Sport India.
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