Chandigarh: When Shubman Gill walks down the tunnel at the Mullanpur Stadium on Friday, he will do so as captain of Gujarat Titans and with the single-minded ambition of winning IPL 2025.

He has just been made the India Test captain as well and the 'home' crowd would surely roar in approval; it could actually tilt support towards GT even though their opponents in the shoot-out Eliminator will be Mumbai Indians.

Since Gill was named captain of the Indian Test team after Rohit Sharma retired from the format, there has been a lot of buzz around him. He has been chased by fans at the local airport and in his hometown, Mohali, since he landed here for the playoffs.

Gill posed for pictures with the fans but also had good sessions at the IS Bindra PCA Stadium in Mohali and also at the PCA New Chandigarh Stadium in the run-up to the Eliminator against MI. It is a big moment for the Punjab Cricket Association as well -- seeing one of their own being appointed as the Test captain and then successfully leading GT in the IPL.

"It is such a proud thing for everyone at PCA. This is going to inspire a generation of cricketers in the region. We are looking forward to seeing him represent India and win trophies.

Fans here are crazy for him. He has done brilliantly for GT also," said PMS Banga PCA Vice President.

For Gill, it will be a test of nerves on a ground that he knows very well... how he reads the local conditions and adapts could be a bonus for GT as they look to secure a place in the final at their franchise home base in Ahmedabad.

There is the added spice of the contest between Gill and Hardik Pandya. GT would love nothing more to get one over their former skipper and to do it at this stage would be especially sweet.

Sharing his thoughts ahead of the match against MI, GT spinner Rashid Khan said this during a promotional event in Mohali.

"We have had a good run in the tournament," said Khan. "The long spell of the tournament provided us a chance to look into certain areas which needed to be worked upon. As a team the mood is very good in the team and the confidence level is high. Both captain Shubman and coach Ashish Nehra have been constantly pushing the team to play to the strength for optimum results. We have played at the PCA Stadium in New Chandigarh before and we have some know-how about the conditions as well."

GT have made the playoffs thrice in the last four seasons, including the trophy-winning run on their debut in 2022 but the last few games have been a bit of a struggle and they will hope to shake that off.

In the bowling department, Khan and Mohammed Siraj will need to revive their magic and provide early breakthroughs to GT against a dangerous MI batting line-up. Coach Nehra would be hoping that Prasidh Krishna who has been the GT's best bowler with 23 wickets this season carries the form into the game.

Although the in-form Sai Sudharsan and Gill would be GT's trump cards in the batting line-up, losing Jos Buttler to national duty will definitely hurt the team.

It remains to be seen how middle-order batters Shahrukh Khan and Sherfane Rutherford step up in the crucial game.

Meanwhile, MI, who have won the IPL trophy five times, have also lost Overseas players in the journey. South Africa's Ryan Rickelton and England's Will Jacks have been key for them and their absence hurts them at many levels but they have some quality to fall back on with Jonny Bairstow coming in to fill the gap.

On the batting front, Suryakumar Yadav has been brilliant for MI but he will hope the big game brings the best out of Rohit Sharma and the rest.

In the past, MI have shown that they know how to get things done in the Playoffs but GT are a resilient bunch too and that is what makes the match a tantalising prospect.