Shubman Gill’s captaincy was criticised by former Indian cricketer Robin Uthappa for being “reactive” rather than proactive, as he called out the way the Gujarat Titans (GT) skipper used pacer Prasidh Krishna during the loss against Mumbai Indians (MI) in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025 Eliminator on Friday.
Gujarat Titans were eliminated from IPL 2025 after suffering a 20-run loss to MI after conceding 228 in the first innings in Mullanpur. The Purple Cap holder with 25 wickets, Krishna, went for 53 runs in his fours and took two wickets.
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His first two overs accounted for 36 runs and no wickets in the powerplay before he was taken out of the attack. Krishna returned in the backend and registered figures of 17/2 from two overs.
Uthappa criticises Gill’s captaincy in Eliminator
Uthappa slammed Gill for using Prasidh Krishna in the powerplay when he has already proven himself to be the best bet for the middle overs. He also criticised GT fielders, who dropped Rohit Sharma twice as he went on to smash a match-winning 81 off 50 balls.
“GT’s strategy was more reactive than proactive. Using Prasidh in the powerplay – despite his success in middle overs – was a misstep. His first over was expensive, and they failed to course-correct,” Uthappa said on JioStar.
“The 26-run and 22-run overs proved costly. On top of that, their fielding let them down. You can’t drop that many catches and expect to win a championship,” he added.
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Rohit was dropped twice during his innings, first by Gerald Coetzee off Krishna’s bowling and later by wicket-keeper Kusal Mendis off Mohammed Siraj.
“After the early drop, Rohit flirted with danger briefly but quickly recognised the need to take control. He shifted gears, played responsibly, found the gaps, and built key partnerships. His composure stood out,” Uthappa said about Rohit’s match-winning knock.
“When players like Rohit, Dhoni, or Kohli are at the crease, the pressure is on everyone else. Sai Sudharsan is starting to reach that level too,” he added.
