"Shubman Gill was off to the gym at 8 am after RCB game" - Gurkeerat Singh Mann

Gujarat Titans opening batter Shubman Gill has impressed one and all with his exploits in the ongoing IPL 2023. He is operating at the highest of gears and has improved by leaps and bounds since his debut in 2018.

Gill has accumulated 680 runs in the league stage at a strike rate of 152.47, notching up four fifties and two centuries. This makes it his best season yet by some distance. He became the fourth player in the history of the IPL to hit back-to-back centuries - 101 (vs SRH) and 104* (vs RCB). Interestingly, the first of Virat Kohli's back to back tons this season also came against SRH.

His blistering 52-ball unbeaten 104, laced with eight sixes and five boundaries, helped GT defeat RCB by six wickets in a 198-run chase. The win knocked RCB out of the playoffs and helped MI sneak through.

Punjab player Gurkeerat Singh Mann, who played three ODI matches for India in 2016, revealed that Shubman Gill was found putting in the hard yards in the gym, just the morning after his ferocious knock in Bengaluru.

Gurkeerat told Indian Express:

"I asked him what’s his plan for the morning, and he said ‘Paaji, I am going to gym’. You can see the work ethic. Most of the time, if a match ends late, players will sleep for an extra couple of hours, but not Shubman. He was off to the gym at 8 am. He knows the work is only half done. He wants to perform more, and score more. The fire in the belly never allows him to lower his guard."

"Shubman Gill watches his batting videos after every match" - Gurkeerat Singh Mann

Shubman Gill has developed a habit of watching video clips of former players to pick up the technical aspects behind certain shots since his childhood days. He has now moved on to watching his own batting footage in a bid to improve his game.

Gurkeerat credits Lakhwinder Singh, who is the father as well as first coach of Shubman Gill, for inculcating the habit in the youngster, who was dubbed "Baby GOAT" by Scott Styris on air.

Gurkeerat said:

"It all started with visualisation. His father Lakhwinder paaji would see how Sachin Tendulkar and Rahul Dravid would play shots on the TV and would try to teach the same to Gill. He will tell him to visualise how Sachin has played a leg glance or how Dravid would get on top of the bounce."

"He watches his batting videos after every match, no matter, he scores runs or gets out cheaply. He analyses the dismissal. He will work on those things in the nets for hours and if you will ask him ‘Shubhi, let’s go; it’s been more than two hours, he will reply, ‘paji ye upar waali ball ne aaj trouble kiya hai, thodi der aur ruk jao (The full ball has troubled me today; please stay for a while)."

Shubman Gill will be crucial to Gujarat Titans' chances in Qualifier 1 to be played at the Chepauk Stadium in Chennai, against Chennai Super Kings on Tuesday