“If you can’t change the man, change the man.”

That’s the famous quote made popular in cricket by then Kolkata Knight Riders head coach Brendon McCullum towards the end of a disappointing end to their 2021 season.

The firebrand Kiwi coach didn’t name any particular player but many suspected it was directed at their young opener Shubman Gill and his lack of intent in the powerplay. KKR didn’t retain Gill ahead of the mega auction. IPL’s new entrants Gujarat Titans roped him in and the new association has proven to be transformational for the player, franchise and Indian cricket.

On Monday, Gill struck his first IPL hundred in 58 balls at a strike rate of 174 against Sunrisers Hyderabad at Ahmedabad. It’s his sixth ton of the year, having struck one in Test cricket, three in ODIs including a double hundred and a maiden T20I century.

“I made my IPL debut against SRH and getting my first hundred against them, I feel like it has come a full circle,” he said. “Hopefully, I will get some more. Hopefully, in this season.”

Bowlers be forewarned. After falling six runs short of a hundred last week, Gill had expressed confidence that he had enough matches in the season to make amends. It didn’t take him long.

It was KKR who chose to invest in the future when they signed the stylish batter from Punjab in 2018 for ₹1.8 crore. A prolific run-maker in age-group cricket, Gill was fresh off a player-of -the-tournament showing in India’s triumphant U19 World Cup. He was impressive in his first IPL where his 203 runs in 13 matches came at a strike rate of 146.

But Gill wasn’t a finished product then. In subsequent seasons, he didn’t always feel at home with KKR’s ultra-agressive style of play. By the time Gill finished playing in KKR’s purple, batting from No 1-7, his record – 58 matches, 1414 runs, Avg 31.49, SR 123 – was not at all indicative of him being Indian cricket’s next big batting hope.

In the last two seasons for GT, Gill has played 29 matches, opened in all the matches and produced 1059 runs, averaging 40.79 at a SR of 139.53. He’s second in this year’s orange cap race with his 576 runs.

It’s difficult to pinpoint the exact reasons for Gill’s failure at KKR. But given what the batter has been able to achieve subsequently shows his previous team did not have the patience to let him evolve as a T20 force.

“Everybody wants everybody to strike at 200 plus yet be consistent in every game you play. That is essentially what you are trying to get to. Within those parameters, you try and get to what is suited to your game and how you can deliver that to the make-up of your line up. We think he is a real talent,” Vikram Solanki, Director of Cricket with Gujarat Titans had said after signing Gill.

Now, a permanent fixture in all formats for India, Gill is repaying the faith. He completed his first fifty runs of his hundred against SRH in 22 balls, the fastest by a batter without hitting a six. That comes as no surprise. His 62 fours in IPL 2023 are the second most – after Yashasvi Jaiswal – of all batters; mastery over placement and timing, not power-hitting being the core of his game. It is something coaches at GT have allowed to flourish.

Gill has worked on his six-hitting in white-ball cricket. He has already struck more sixes (14) in the ongoing edition than ever before in any IPL season. His ODI double hundred against New Zealand at Hyderabad earlier in the year had as many as 9 sixes. But rarely does Gill slog. The elevation he gets is thanks to a heady cocktail of balance and a delightful bat swing.

There are areas in his T20 game to be addressed. Gill would have liked to not slow down en route to his first IPL hundred. There will be days when a most glorious Gill innings becomes a footnote in a six-hitting run-fest of a T20 encounter. But on more days than not, Gill is proving that he can boss the format with his impeccable shot selection. In that way, he is winning admirers by the hundreds.