Friday, May 30, was an unfortunate day for all the Gujarat Titans (GT) supporters as their favourite team was bested by the Mumbai Indians (MI) in a thrilling IPL 2025 Eliminator clash. Shubman Gill, who had been recently appointed as the new Test captain, was leading GT from the front for a large part of their campaign.

A season packed with highs, learnings, and memories to last a lifetime 💙 pic.twitter.com/wMFGXZp9P0

— Gujarat Titans (@gujarat_titans) May 30, 2025

However, towards the end, his captaincy faltered, resulting in their unexpected exit. Both fans and experts are having a hard time accepting that GT is eliminated from IPL 2025. This has ultimately been the main instigator for Shubman Gill’s captaincy criticism.

Reasons for GT’s Failure in the IPL 2025 Eliminator

The Titans suffered a startling 20-run defeat in the May 30 match between GT and MI in Mullanpur. A team with a very dismal start to the season stunned a team that had dominated the points table for most of the season. But it’s also true that there were indications of vulnerability, particularly following Jos Buttler’s removal from the batting order, which was verified following the unexpected defeats to the Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) and Chennai Super Kings (CSK).

This has been a very special season 💙 pic.twitter.com/LP9DAa1n6S

— Gujarat Titans (@gujarat_titans) May 30, 2025

Still, there are other reasons too behind the fact that GT is eliminated from IPL 2025. Some of these reasons are directly related to the role of captain, leading to Shubman Gill’s captaincy criticism. Let’s discuss these reasons one by one in depth to fully understand if all the condemnation against Gill is even justified.

An Inconsistent Middle Order

GT’s middle order boasts of Rahul Tewatia, Sherfane Rutherford, and Washington, which on paper seems a pretty tight group of hard-hitters. But in reality, they have been quite ineffective in times of need. There’s also Shahrukh Khan in the mix, but he has been rather forgettable this season.

Standing tall when it matters! 💪 pic.twitter.com/IhMlX4Nf2T

— Gujarat Titans (@gujarat_titans) May 30, 2025

GT’s batting order was largely dependent on their top 3 – Sai Sudharsan, Shubman Gill, and Jos Buttler. These three were the main dominant forces in their batting order, scoring massive runs and putting up huge totals for the team. But things weren’t the same after Jos Buttler left the team. From there, everything went downhill for GT.

SaiKi 🤝 Captain Gill 🙌 pic.twitter.com/sW0Pfdik9P

— Gujarat Titans (@gujarat_titans) May 25, 2025

GT’s middle order took a major hit with all-rounder Glenn Phillips’ withdrawal from the league following a serious groin injury. He was then replaced by all-rounder Dasun Shanaka, who didn’t play even a single match. Despite all this, things were hunky-dory till the top 3 were there to rescue GT’s batting on several occasions. But once Buttler was out of the picture, they couldn’t handle the pressure.

Bowlers Leaking a Truckload of Runs

With Kagiso Rabada and Rashid Khan spearheading your pace and spin units, respectively, you would expect to be pretty much covered in the bowling department, right? Even more so, they also had Mohammed Siraj in the pace battery, which gives you more ammunition to work with. However, this wasn’t the case for GT this season, as all of them were inconsistent with the ball, and at times, even expensive.

Most of the big names – Arshad Khan, Ishant Sharma, Gerald Coetzee – seemed to be leaking runs left, right, and center all season. But then there were Prasidh Krishna and Sai Kishore. Those two were absolute workhorses, practically salvaging the entire bowling attack, bagging a phenomenal 44 wickets between them.

Prasidh by name, precise by game 🎯😎 pic.twitter.com/d7mjvaIeLN

— Gujarat Titans (@gujarat_titans) May 27, 2025

The problem was that, with everyone else struggling, the burden on Prasidh and Sai just kept piling up. And when it came to the high-stakes IPL 2025 Eliminator, they were handed the entire load. It was too much to ask. After carrying the team for so long, they finally cracked under the immense pressure.

He is in the mood tonight 😎

Rohit Sharma, the 𝐁𝐢𝐠 𝐌𝐚𝐭𝐜𝐡 𝐏𝐥𝐚𝐲𝐞𝐫 🫡

Updates ▶ https://t.co/R4RTzjQfph #TATAIPL | #GTvMI | #Eliminator | #TheLastMile | @ImRo45 pic.twitter.com/WJsarasZuI

— IndianPremierLeague (@IPL) May 30, 2025

Dropped Catches

In the crucial knockout match, Rohit Sharma was dropped twice in the second and third over – the same Rohit Sharma who went on to score 81 off 50 balls and became the Player of the Match. He was first dropped by Gerald Coetzee at 3 runs, and then by wicket-keeper Kusal Mendis at 12. Similarly, Suryakumar Yadav was dropped too, in the 12th over (again by Kusal Mendis), when he was at 25 runs. He went on to score 33 off just 20 balls, which helped MI’s total very much.

Shubman Gill’s Captaincy Criticism：Is it Fair？

Now, it’s time to determine if it was really all Gill’s fault or if he shouldn’t be blamed for this unwanted outcome. Well, technically, it’s the captain who is blamed at the end for a team’s failures, as his role is instrumental in any team’s performance and its smooth functioning. But aren’t we forgetting one thing? Gill is just 25 years old, he lacks experience. And anyway, he has come a long way since his last season catastrophe as a captain.

Related Match：GT vs MI IPL 2025 Eliminator on May 30 at Maharaja Yadavindra Singh International Cricket Stadium, Mullanpur, Chandigarh

He had a forgettable 2024 season as GT’s captain, where his team ended the season in the 8th position. He has at least improved a lot from his previous attempt. We should be appreciating him for such a turnaround, instead of blaming him for not going all the way. Although GT is eliminated from IPL 2025 now, Gill took the team to the top 4 despite all the flaws in the team.

Our Shub-𝐌𝐀𝐍 💙😎 pic.twitter.com/Xs0TQaQytt

— Gujarat Titans (@gujarat_titans) June 1, 2025

Also, the only mistake that he committed in the Eliminator was not utilising Prasidh Krishna properly; everything else was out of his control. I’m sure it will be a learning experience for him, and he’ll come back strong in the next season. In my opinion, Shubman Gill’s captaincy criticism is unfair and uncalled for.