By Karunesh Kumar

Ahmedabad (Gujarat) [India], May 13 (ANI): Gujarat Titans (GT) pace spearhead Kagiso Rabada has praised skipper Shubman Gill, describing him as a 'class player' and lauding his calm leadership style that gives players the freedom to perform while sticking to the team's overall game plan.

GT, led by Shubman Gill, currently sit at the top of the Indian Premier League (IPL) points table with eight wins from 12 matches so far in the ongoing season.

'Shubham Gill is obviously a class player. Plays all formats, got all the shots. And as a captain, he doesn't really get too involved in what the players are trying to do. But as I said earlier, he's just going to keep driving what we all agreed on doing as a team throughout the entire tournament,' Rabada told ANI in an interview.

In the ongoing IPL season, Gill has been in sensational form, amassing 467 runs in 11 innings at a remarkable average of 42.45, including four half-centuries under his belt.

He is GT's second-highest run scorer in the tournament behind his opening partner, Sai Sudharsan, and fifth overall.

Rabada highlighted the growing effectiveness of the middle order, emphasising that it's about refining skills rather than emotions. He praised their ability to influence key moments, citing performances against the Rajasthan Royals and their most recent clash against the Sunrisers Hyderabad on Tuesday, as examples of improved impact and hunger as the tournament progresses.

'The middle order is something people have been talking about a lot. But we know what we possess as a threat in that middle order. So it's not about really making it too emotional. It's more about just improving and making it more clinical. And there definitely have been signs of that. You saw in the Rajasthan game how we finished it. And how in the previous game that we played last night, the middle order played a key role in switching the momentum to our favour. So what I see is a lot of hunger and slight bits of improvement as we go on in tournaments,' he added.

Apart from Gill, Sudharsan has also been in sensational form, smashing 501 runs in 12 innings at an impressive average of 41.75, including a hundred and five fifties.

GT's opening pair has been their backbone this season. While wicketkeeper/batter Jos Buttler has also been among the runs with 355 runs in 12 innings, including 2 fifties.

While GT's top order--Gill, Sudharsan and Jos Buttler--has been in strong form, the middle order has shown inconsistency, though Washington Sundar has contributed significantly with 296 runs, including two half-centuries. No other GT batter has crossed the 150-run mark this season so far.

GT have two league matches remaining before the playoffs, against Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) on May 16 (Saturday) and Chennai Super Kings (CSK) next May 21 (Thursday). (ANI)