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GT in IPL 2024: Team preview
Gujarat Titans came into existence back in 2022 and in their very first season, they won the Indian Premier League (IPL). The Titans beat Sanju Samson’s Rajasthan Royals (RR) in the final. Last season, they finished as the runners-up after losing to the Chennai Super Kings (CSK) in a final, which was placed across three days at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad.
It goes without saying that the Titans were the team to beat in the last seasons of the T20 tournament. However, in 2024, GT will be in for a whole new challenge. Their talismanic skipper Hardik Pandya, who was exceptional for the Titans, is not a part of their team anymore.
In IPL 2024, Hardik will be leading the Mumbai Indians (MI) after taking over from Rohit Sharma. The Titans, in the meantime, named Shubman Gill as their skipper. Gill started his IPL career with the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) before making a move to the Titans in 2022.
After a stellar run with the bat last season, the Titans zeroed in on him as the apt replacement for Hardik. It now remains to be seen if Gill can help GT carry their impressive run in the IPL.
Gill will be high on confidence after he finished as the second-highest run-scorer in the 5-match Test series against England. After fighting for form, he racked up over 400 runs in the series.
Before the auction that took place last year, the Titans released Yash Dayal, KS Bharat, Shivam Mavi, Urvil Patel, Pradeep Sangwan, Odean Smith, Alzarri Joseph and Dasun Shanaka.
In the auction, the Titans roped in Azmatullah Omarzai, Umesh Yadav, Shahrukh Khan, Sushant Mishra, Kartik Tyagi, Manav Suthar, Spencer Johnson and Robin Minz.
Full GT squad for IPL 2024
The Titans went all out for Australian fast bowler Spencer Johnson, buying him for INR 10 lakhs. Last year, Johnson bowled 19 dot balls out of 20 in the Hundred while playing for the Oval Invincibles. The Titans also shelled out INR 7.40 for Shahrukh Khan, who made a move from the Punjab Kings (PBKS).
GT also bought veteran fast bowler Umesh Yadav for INR 5.80 crore. Robin Minz, the first Adivasi cricketer in the IPL, fetched INR 3.60 from the Titans in the auction.
GT squad
Mathew Wade, Wriddhiman Saha, Robin Minz, Shubman Gill, David Miller, Abhinav Manohar, Kane Williamson, Sai Sudharsan, Rashid Khan (AFG), Rahul Tewatia, Jayant Yadav, Vijay Shankar, Azmatullah Omarzai, Darshan Nalkande, Shahrukh Khan, Mohammed Shami, Umesh Yadav, Josh Little, R. Sai Kishore, Mohit Sharma, Noor Ahmad, Sushant Mishra, Kartik Tyagi, Manav Suthar, Spencer Johnson.
Leads from the front ✔️
— Gujarat Titans (@gujarat_titans) December 3, 2023
Leads by example ✔️
Leads us to a bright tomorrow ✔️
Captain Gill 🫡#AavaDe | #CNBCTV18IBLA pic.twitter.com/yKy08Xlki4
Strengths
- Strong spin attack
Rashid Khan and Noor Ahmad form a lethal spin bowling pair for the Titans. If needed, the likes of Rahul Tewatai and Shahrukh Khan can also roll their arms over.
- Excellent finishers
The Titans have batters, who can come in and play their shots right away. David Miller, Rahul Tewatai and Rashid Khan can tear apart from the best bowling attacks on their day.
- Strong Indian core
Despite Hardik not being a part of their team anymore, the Titans have an excellent bunch of Indian cricketers, who can be match-winners on their day.
Weaknesses
- Mohammed Shami’s absence
It is highly unlikely that Mohammed Shami will take part in IPL 2024. The speedster recently underwent a surgery and may not be fit to play in the upcoming event on Indian soil.
- Shubman Gill’s lack of captaincy experience
There are little doubts on Shubman Gill’s calibre as a specialist batter. However, having not captained a lot in top-level cricket, the pressure will be on him as GT’s new skipper.
- Lack of quality all-rounders
After Pandya’s departure, the Titans lack match-winning all-rounders in their team. Azmatullah Omarzai is untested in the IPL and how he handles the pressure of IPL remains to be seen.
GT Predicted XI
1. Shubman Gill
2. Wriddhiman Saha
3. Sai Sudharsan
4. Vijay Shankar
5. David Miller
6. Shahrukh Khan
7. Rashid Khan
8. Noor Ahmad
9. Spencer Johnson
10. Umesh Yadav
11. Kartik Tyagi
Impact player options for GT
In a star-studded lineup, Afghanistan all-rounder Azmatullah Omarzai may not get a lot of chances. However, the Titans can use him as an Impact Player. Not only can he play the big shots, but also chip in with handy overs. The likes of Kartik Tyagi and Sushant Mishra can also be useful choices as Impact Players for the Titans in the upcoming IPL edition.
In earlier IPL seasons, Tyagi showed that he does not get flustered by the situation. R. Sai Kishore can also be used as an Impact Player on pitches that help spinners.
Season prediction
The Titans built a reputation for themselves as a force to be reckoned with. Hardik Pandya made them a strong unit. But with Hardik not in the team anymore, the onus is now on Gill as to how he helps the Titans remain on top.
Like the previous two seasons, it should not spring a surprise if the Titans make their way through to the playoffs. They retained most of their big players, who chipped in with useful contributions for them in the 2022 and 2023 season of the IPL.
Gill had a dream run last year after he hammered 890 runs from 17 matches at an average of 59.33 with 3 hundreds and 4 fifties to show for his efforts. He is one of the reasons why the Titans advanced to the final.
Shami, who won the Purple Cap in 2023, may not make the cut for the IPL. In his absence, the likes of Rashid Khan, Mohit Sharma and Noor Ahmad have to take charge.
Both Rashid and Mohit accounted for 27 scalps apiece in IPL 2023. Noor, who made his IPL debut as an Impact Player, picked up 16 wickets from 13 games.
The role of their pace attack, comprising Johnson, Little, Umesh and others, has an important role to play as well.
