India’s Test and ODI captain Shubman Gill is all set to return to action after being sidelined for the New Zealand series and then the victorious ICC T20 World Cup 2026 campaign. After being dropped from India’s T20I setup, Shubman Gill now has a golden opportunity to grab the headlines with a big performance in the upcoming IPL 2026.
He lost his place due to his irregular outings. Now, IPL 2026 could become the perfect platform for the Gujarat Titans captain to prove his worth once again in the shorter format of the game.
IPL 2026 is a golden opportunity for Shubman Gill after the defeat in T20 World Cup 2026.
Ahead of the upcoming cricket festival, former Indian opener Aakash Chopra believes that the upcoming IPL 2026 season could completely change Gill’s T20 story. With many young batsmen currently battling for places in India’s top order, the commentator feels that the Gujarat Titans captain will need to have an excellent season to re-enter the Indian T20I team.
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At present, Abhishek Sharma, Sanju Samson and Ishan Kishan are already performing brilliantly with the bat in this format. And then, explosive openers Yashasvi Jaiswal and Vaibhav Suryavanshi, as well as Ruturaj Gaikwad are already in line for a place in the team.
Due to this intense competition, Chopra boldly said that Gill needs at least 700 runs in the upcoming IPL 2026 to bring himself back into serious T20I selection talks.
Aakash Chopra’s bold prediction for Shubman Gill
“There are a lot of opportunities. Could this be the season that Shubman Gill gets back into the T20I race? Let’s be very honest, he is out of the race at the moment. Abhishek Sharma and Sanju Samson are playing at the moment, and Ishan Kishan is right there with them,” Aakash Chopra said in a video posted on his YouTube channel.
He further added, “Yashasvi Jaiswal is sitting out, and Vaibhav Suryavanshi will be breathing down his neck at some point. Ruturaj Gaikwad is also in there. So, could it be a 700-800-run season in which he also plays a slightly different brand of cricket? That’s something Shubman Gill can do.”
Chopra hopes for salvation from Washington Sundar
Meanwhile, cricket pundits have pointed out that Washington Sundar has been a part of the IPL for so many years and has even been sold quite expensively at times, but the all-rounder failed to make much of an impact.
“Could this be that season? I’m expecting a slightly bigger role for him. You might see him at No. 4 or No. 5. While he’ll have a bigger role with the bat, you’ll expect a lot more from him with the bowling,” Chopra said.
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Last year, Sundar played only six matches for Gujarat Titans in IPL 2025, where he scored only 133 runs in five innings at a strike rate of 166.25 and took only two wickets in 10.5 overs.
Can Gujarat Titans reach IPL 2026 playoffs?
Chopra also predicted that Shubman Gill-led Gujarat Titans will make the playoffs this season. Since its inception, the franchise has already made three playoff appearances.
He signed off by saying, “Can they reach the playoffs once again? If you have reached the playoffs three times in four years, played the finals twice, and won the trophy once, this is probably the most successful team in the history of the IPL at the moment. If we look at a four-year sample size they are the best, but can they repeat that?”
