Gujarat Titans Predicted Playing 11
GT Predicted Playing 11
Defending champions Gujarat Titans start their IPL 2023 campaign against Chennai Super Kings in Ahmedabad on March 31, 2023.
Not many predicted that Hardik Pandya would lead the Gujarat Titans to their maiden title in their first attempt last year. Even their auction performance looked very ordinary for all the cricket pundits and fans across the world.
As they say, a team is made of a collection of parts, and they become a formidable team when the sum of those parts plays together.
The Gujarat Titans did the same last year; they had everyone in the team perform throughout the tournament, starting with Gill, Saha on the powerplays, Hardik in the middle overs, Tewatia and Miller as finishers, and Shami and Rashid controlling the opposition and picking wickets.
This year, they decided to let go of Lockie Ferguson, who holds 10 crores of their purse value, and let go of Gurbaz to KKR. With more than 10 crores in budget with them at the auction table, the Titans bought the ever-reliable Kane Williamson cheaply, picked Josh Little from Ireland, and bought Shivam Mavi for 6 crores.
Openers
Shubham Gill, Wriddhiman Saha
Shubham Gill has so far had an unforgettable 2023, where he has registered centuries in all three formats. In T20s alone, Gill has scored 945 runs since 2022 at an average of 39.37 and a strike rate of 144 from 28 innings.
After having decent last three IPL seasons, 2023 could be the season where Gill could finally break the door to reach 600+ runs.
Alongside Gill, the Titans have a few options to use. However, for the start, the Titans would settle with the proven pair of Gill and Saha, which did phenomenally well towards the 2nd half of the last season.
Saha plays carefree shots when he opens in the IPL, which eventually gives him more rewards than failures. The Titans would be hoping to have a good start from the Gill-Saha combo like last season.
The Titans could also try with Sai Sudharsan or K S Bharat if Saha fails in the first few matches.
Middle Orders
Kane Williamson, Hardik Pandya
The Titans have two good options for No. 3. They could go with the always reliable Kane Williamson or with attacking batter Matthew Wade. When the surface is a bit tacky, they could go with an experienced Williamson; if the surface is very true, they could go with Wade.
The No. 3 slot also depends on the performance of Saha; if Saha is replaced by Sai Sudharsan, then the Titans will have to play Wade because of his keeping skills.
Hardik Pandya at No. 4 was a revelation last year when he led the batting on his own and scored 487 runs. There is no doubt about his potential, and the fact that he took the captaincy for the first time and played as a finisher for India and the Mumbai Indians, long injury break in 2021 made his performance last year really special.
Only time will tell if Hardik can replicate his performances from last year.
Finishers
David Miller, Rahul Tewatia
After not making any mark on the IPL for close to half a decade, "If it's in the arc, it's out of the park" player finally proved his worth last year for the Gujarat Titans, finishing almost all the games for the Titans barring one against the Mumbai Indians towards the tail end of the league.
David Miller scored 481 runs at an unbelievable average of 68 and strike rate of 142. Miller not only performed at the IPL, but he has also been having a very good last year and a half with the bat for Proteas and the other franchises across the world.
David Miller's performance will determine the Titans final score in each and every match.
Along with Miller, Rahul Tewatia will take up the finisher role. Tewatia has been playing handy knocks for the past 3 IPL seasons. He even got selected to play for India last year, but unfortunately missed out due to fitness issues.
Tewatia has worked on his bowling and picked up a few wickets at the Syed Mushtaq Ali tournament. If Hardik wants a couple of overs of leg spin, he can rely on Tewatia for that.
All-Rounders
Rashid Khan, Sai Kishore
The No. 7 spot will be given to mystery spinner Rashid Khan, who has had a consistent performance in the IPL since he started. In the last 2-3 years, Rashid's batting has improved by leaps and bounds. His performances against CSK and SRH last season are a few examples of his batting prowess.
Hardik can bank on Rashid to give him a very economical four overs, as teams have now started to play Rashid Khan carefully. Despite this, Rashid has taken over 15 wickets every season.
Along with Rashid Khan, Tamil Nadu left-arm spinner Sai Kishore will take up spin duties. Sai Kishore had a very good season last year where the batters struggled to score runs off his bowling.
He also has added some batting skills in domestic leagues, where he has been playing mostly in the top five.
His batting won't be required mostly; however, it can come in handy when required.
Bowlers
Shami, Mavi & Joseph
The Titans have a good trio of fast bowlers in the form of Shami, Mavi, and Joseph.
Shami has been consistently performing well with the ball wherever and in whichever format he plays.
Mavi has recently broke into the India T20 team and has performed well in the limited chances he has got.
Joseph has been a revelation for West Indies across the formats in the last two years. He can also swing a little with the bat these days.
Backups
Matthew Wade, who has had a very successful T20 career in the last few years, can replace Kane Williamson depending on the conditions.
K S Bharat and Sai Sudharsan can also target Saha's spot if the latter performs badly.
Josh Little and Odean Smith can play a few matches if the team combinations are changed depending on the conditions.
Comments
Post a Comment