Former India cricketer Lakshmipathy Balaji has called Gujarat Titans (GT) captain Shubman Gill a ‘shorter version of Rohit Sharma’ for his flamboyance, backfoot-heavy batting, and classical shots. Balaji hailed Gill for his personal growth and consistency since joining GT in 2022. Gill was picked up by the Kolkata Knight Riders soon after a successful 2018 Under-19 World Cup. However, as a teenager in the toughest league in the world, he took time to get going in terms of pure T20 play. KKR lost patience in 2022 and released him, only to see him join the newly minted GT. IPL 2026 | Schedule | Results | Orange Cap | Purple Cap His first year at the franchise wasn’t smooth sailing, though they won the title, but since then, the right-hander has had no season with fewer than 426 runs or a strike-rate lower than 147.40. In IPL 2026, Gill has already scored 467 runs at a strike rate of 158.31. “He is a classical cricketer who bats with ease. He is the shorter version of Rohit Sharma. Like Rohit, he is flamboyant, has the extra time, and plays the backfoot cover drive. His playing conventional cricket, but at a high strike rate with consistency, has influenced the team a lot. He is such an improved player with back-to-back excellent seasons,” Bangar said on Star Sports. Gill’s personal form has helped his captaincy, as GT are amid one of their best seasons with eight wins from 12 matches, and only two points away from securing a playoff spot. Sudharsan plays ‘several roles’ for GT GT’s most consistent strength is their opening pair, and Gill is only one half of that. Balaji hailed the other, Sai Sudharsan, for being adaptable and finding his feet as an old-school batter in this era of IPL. “He’s in a great space at the moment,” Balaji said. “He plays conventional cricket and takes his time without going for big shots. His cover driving shows he’s a player in control. His maturity shows in the fact that he looks to play the full 20 overs and maximize it. He seems to play several roles for the team. After failing in the first three matches, he did his course corrections so fast to become the first to 500 this season.” KKR host GT at the Eden Gardens on Saturday (May 16).