The addition of the new Ahmedabad IPL club and Lucknow franchise was the main discussion point before the 15th edition of the Indian Premier League. The league has 10 clubs competing in it for the first time since 2011.
The BCCI welcomed investors from all around the world to participate in the auction for these two franchises in October 2021. While the Gujarat squad was owned by the international equity group CVC Capital Partners. The Lucknow franchise was put up for sale by the RPSG Group, the erstwhile Rising Pune Supergiant owners, for a stunning INR 7,090 crore.
In Gujarat, an IPL team had already appeared, so this was nothing new. However, when Rajasthan Royals and Chennai Super Kings were banned for two years, Gujarat Lions was brought in as a substitute for just two years. The Rajkot-based franchise is no longer in operation.
Similar to how it was with the Deccan Chargers and Sunrisers Hyderabad, neither of these teams will be connected, and none of the accomplishments of the Rajkot-based team have added to those of the Gujarat Titans.
-IPL 2023-
The next Indian Premier League is scheduled to start in April 2023. The window for a retention and release program for every team has been opened by BCCI as part of the IPL program. The window was shut on November 15th, 2022. Only last year did Gujarat Titans make their IPL debut, and they made history by winning their first game.
The Gujarat Titans, led by Hardik Pandya, will aim to retain their Indian Premier League (IPL) championship in the next season. They shocked everyone by winning their first championship in only their first season, with Hardik’s leadership taking center stage. Throughout IPL 2022, GT performed as a strong unit and was a challenging team to beat.
-Auction-
The Tata IPL 2023 auction took place on December 23, 2022, in Kochi. Every year, teams engage in amazing bidding wars to assemble the ideal squad in an effort to win the coveted IPL trophy.
One of the very few clubs entering the auction with little need for acquisitions was Gujarat Titans (GT). There weren’t many weak links in the Hardik Pandya-led team to replace as they were only the second IPL club to win a title in their inaugural campaign.
The current champions, Gujarat Titans, entered the auction with a budget of INR 19.25 crore for the seven places that were open. Titans only placed bids on seven players at the auction and won all of them, including Shivam Mavi, who they paid INR 6 crore for. Of the seven, four were purchased at their base price.
The Gujarat Titans bought a total of 7 players to build a full-capacity squad of 25 players. The 7 players bought by GT were Kane Williamson (₹2 crores), Odean Smith (₹50 lakhs), K.S. Bharat (₹1.2 crores), Shivam Mavi (₹6 crores), Urvil Patel (₹20 lakhs), Joshua Little (₹4.4 crores), and Mohit Sharma (₹50 lakhs).
-Gujarat Titans Squad for IPL 2023-
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.
-Gujarat Titans Analysis-
Strengths
A squad with no obvious weak links is the 2022 IPL Champions. The team has plenty of talent in all three areas of the game under the flamboyant Hardik Pandya’s direction.
In comparison to the other teams, the batting order did appear a little weak last year, and GT sometimes needed miracles from its finishers, Rahul Tewatia, David Miller, and Rashid Khan, to help them cross the finish line. But, the addition of top batsmen like Kane Williamson and K.S. Bharat will give the lineup much more stability.
Mohit Sharma, Joshua Little, and Shivam Mavi were added to a bowling arsenal that already included Mohammed Shami, Alzarri Joseph, Yash Dayal, and Rashid Khan. Overall, Gujarat Titans appear to be a wonderfully balanced team that is prepared to defend their first IPL championship.
Weaknesses
GT is a team without any notable flaws. Last year, their batting lineup did occasionally appear a little flimsy, but the arrival of New Zealand skipper Kane Williamson makes it appear a lot stronger on paper.
Although Kane Williamson is one of the finest hitters in the world, his recent subpar T20 cricket performances have caused him to slip down the rankings. He has also received harsh criticism due to his current poor strike rate.
Without a doubt, the Orange Cap winner from 2018 is a fantastic athlete, but current trends suggest otherwise. The fact that his worth has dropped from $14 crore last year to just $2 crore this year is evidence of his struggles with the bat in T20 cricket.
The Kiwi maestro’s capacity to rediscover his genuine form with the bat will be a key factor in GT’s IPL championship defense. On India’s shifting surfaces, their lack of a skilled spinner besides Rashid Khan may potentially be a concern.
Opportunities
As was already known, Kane Williamson will get the chance to prove himself in the IPL’s shortest format. Also, this season will provide young players like Yash Dayal and Sai Kishore another chance to establish their value at the top level.
By being selected by Gujarat, Joshua Little became the first Irish cricketer to sign a contract for the IPL. The young player is eager to establish himself in the premier T20 league.
Threats
Just two teams, the Mumbai Indians (2019, 2020) and Chennai Super Kings (2010, 2011), have ever been successful in successfully defending their championships. However, the Gujarat Titans last season leaned too heavily on their lower middle order to help them win games, which is a risky strategy.
Also, the IPL will be played in additional cities outside merely Mumbai and Pune, unlike the previous season. Another crucial element in the success of the relatively new franchise will be how they react to and adjust to spin-friendly surfaces in Chennai, Hyderabad, and Kolkata with just one experienced spinner (Rashid Khan) in their line-up.
