Overview
The Gujarat Titans amazed everyone by winning the league on their first attempt. After the 2022 mega-auction, hardly anyone gave them any chance of even making it to the top four, forget winning the whole thing. But the Hardik Pandya-led side from western India achieved greater glory by producing different match-winners in every match they played.
Gujarat Titans built a healthy squad last season, Yash Dayal was the breakthrough bowler, and David Miller helped the Titans win the trophy by reclaiming the title of “Killer Miller” by returning to form and winning the first qualifier for them. They had covered every aspect of the game last year, but their top-order batting often faltered and left the middle order doing most of the work. Hence, they needed a strong top-order presence who can anchor the innings if needed. The IPL also goes back to the home-away format this season, meaning they will play 7 of their games at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad, a slower wicket than Mumbai, hence the team had to shape a bit differently. So, they went into the 2023 mini-auction looking to solve these problems, and they did a good job.
How They Fared in The Mini-Auction
They went into the mini-auction looking to solve two main problems:
A steady top-order batsman.
A good Indian pacer.
Titans traded their premium pace bowler Lockie Ferguson to KKR pre-auction as they would play fewer matches at venues with high pace and bounce. And they retained the strong core which helped them win the trophy.
Retained Players: Hardik Pandya, Wriddhiman Saha, Abhinav Manohar, Rahul Tewatia, B. Sai Sudharsan, Darshan Nalkande, Jayant Yadav, Mohammed Shami, Pradeep Sangwan, R. Sai Kishore, Shubman Gill, Vijay Shankar, Yash Dayal, Alzarri Joseph, David Miller, Matthew Wade, Noor Ahmad, Rashid Khan
They got the following players in the auction:
Kane Williamson - 2 Crores INR
Shivam Mavi - 6 Crores INR
KS Bharat - 1.2 Crores INR
Odean Smith - 50 Lakhs INR
Joshua Little - 4.4 Crores INR
Mohit Sharma - 50 Lakhs INR
Urvil Patel - 20 Lakhs INR
It is fair to say they had a very successful auction. They stole a strong and steady top-order batsman in Kane Williamson. They got two good fast bowlers Shivam Mavi and the left-hander Josh Little. KS Bharat gives them an attacking Indian wicket-keeper batting option if Wade or Saha don’t give them what they want out of them. And they got a middle-order attacking batting all-rounder in Odean Smith in case they wanted to play around with the overseas combination a little.
How Does 2023 Look?
Gujarat had built a good foundation in 2022 with a mighty young Indian core. They added a few players to it this year and look even mightier. Their young prodigy - Shubman Gill has been having a cracker of a year since the team won the trophy. He has scored a century in every format and has bossed all conditions he has played in. With the addition of Kane Williamson to the side, their top order is rock solid.
Squad: Hardik Pandya (C), Shubman Gill, David Miller, Abhinav Manohar, Sai Sudharsan, Wriddhiman Saha, Matthew Wade, Rashid Khan, Rahul Tewatia, Vijay Shankar, Mohammed Shami, Alzarri Joseph, Yash Dayal, Pradeep Sangwan, Darshan Nalkande, Jayant Yadav, R Sai Kishore, Noor Ahmad, Kane Williamson, Odean Smith, KS Bharat, Shivam Mavi, Urvil Patel, Joshua Little, Mohit Sharma
Hardik Pandya the skipper has evolved since he captained a professional team for the first time in his career. Since then, he has captained India in a few T20Is and the one-off ODI against Australia this month. He has become a calm and composed batsman, not erratic, not the carefree striker, but an evaluated striker who knows when to take the foot off the accelerator. Batting-wise, he will be the man the middle-order will run around, but he will be critical captaincy-wise, and I am sure he’s up to the challenge.
Shivam Mavi will give them a fairly experienced Indian pace bowling option who can also be handy with the bat. So, what does their playing XI look like?
Their best playing XI according to me:
Shubman Gill
Wriddhiman Saha (WK)
Kane Williamson ✈️
Hardik Pandya (C)
David Miller ✈️
Rahul Tewatia
Rashid Khan ✈️
Shivam Mavi
Alzarri Joseph ✈️
Mohammed Shami
R Sai Kishore
Backups: Matthew Wade, Josh Little, KS Bharat, Vijay Shankar, and Abhinav Manohar.
This playing XI gives them the opening partnership that worked wonders for them last season, a freed-up Wriddhiman Saha and the young gun Shubman Gill. At number 3, the veteran Kane Williamson can play the role of an anchor when needed and can also accelerate and score plenty of runs. Skipper Pandya at number 4 gives them a solid bridge between the top-order and middle-order. With Miller, Tewatia, and Rashid to follow, they have good batting till number 7.
Within this squad, GT has a batch of young Indian explosive batsmen that can wreak havoc against any opposition. Two in particular - Sai Sudarshan and Abhinav Manohar have the potential to be special top-order batsmen. Knowing Hardik and Ashish Nehra, they would want to put their faith in young Indian batsmen, and they could strike a goldmine there. I expect both to give Gujarat match-winning contributions and win one man of the match each.
Now, Mavi, Shami, and Joseph are gun-pace bowling options. All of them can bowl in the powerplay, in the middle overs, and at the death and give the team key wickets. The spin department will be handled by Rashid, Sai Kishore, and Tewatia. The most important bonus for the Titans this season will be Hardik’s bowling. Since the 2022 IPL, he has become a full 4-over bowler who can give the team how many ever overs the team requires. This gives them 7 bowling options which allow them to shuffle up the bowlers if they are expensive. This is the recipe for brilliance.
How Can They Utilize the New Rules?
IPL 2023 has introduced two key rule changes.
Impact Player.
Teams can decide XI after the toss.
First is the addition of an impact player. This is a substitution the team can make, an Indian player can be swapped out for another player who then plays the rest of the match. It can be an overseas player if the team is playing less than 4 overseas players.
Which players can the Titans use as impact players to benefit them? If they bat first, they can field KS Bharat in place of Shivam Mavi and utilize his batting talents giving them a mighty strong number 8 batsman. Then in their bowling innings, they can sub out KS Bharat for Mavi giving them the 7th bowling option. Similarly, if they bowl first, they can field Mavi and utilize his bowling and then sub in KS Bharat to get that 8th batter in the side.
With these new rules, and the options that the Titans have, they are a very dangerous side, so, where can they finish this year?
Prediction Time 🔮
This is a strong side, fit to be the defending champions, they’re as strong as they were in 2022 if not stronger. I am expecting them to make the playoffs, very possibly finishing at the top of the table again. I wouldn’t be surprised if they make it to the Finals again. Whether or not they can repeat and win the trophy again is a tricky question, and we’ll find out if they can do so by mid-season. This will be a test of Hardik’s captaincy. Last season, with a new team and a new captain, no one expected them to win, this made his job a little easier. Now, they are coming on the back of a championship-winning season, there are big expectations, and how he leads the team, will shape his future as a captain.
Injury Update
Kane Williamson (Ruled Out): Replacement - Dasun Shanaka
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