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Gujarat Titans (GT) were exceptional in their previous two seasons in the Indian Premier League (IPL). Hardik Pandya led the team to consecutive finals with GT winning the title in 2022 before finishing as runners-up in 2023. Expectations will once again be sky-high for Gujarat Titans, but the challenge will be more difficult under the new captain, Shubman Gill. At the mini-auction in December 2023, GT secured the services of Azmatullah Omarzai, Umesh Yadav, Shahrukh Khan, Spencer Johnson, Manav Suthar, Kartik Tyagi, Sushant Mishra, and Robin Minz for a total of INR 30.3 crore. Gujarat Titans will begin their Indian Premier League 2024 season against Mumbai Indians on March 24 and ahead of the new campaign, let’s analyse their strengths, weaknesses, and more in our SWOT analysis.
Strengths
GT have an exquisite batting line-up, with Shubman Gill, Kane Williamson, David Miller, Rahul Tewatia, and Matthew Wade, all a part of the squad. Any one of these players can be a match-winner on their day and they are capable of both building an innings when the need arises and playing the attacking role as well.
Shubman Gill was in sensational form in IPL 2023 as his 890 runs in 17 matches last year demonstrates. At the mini-auction, GT also bought Tamil Nadu hard-hitter Shahrukh Khan, who is known for his explosive batting on the domestic circuit and can contribute greatly in the middle order.
On the bowling front, Rashid Khan will be the team’s go-to man, especially in the middle overs and the Afghan spinner can also score useful runs at a quick pace when needed. His countryman and teammate, Noor Ahmad, who impressed last season with 16 scalps, will provide spin support to Rashid. Additionally, new buy Umesh Yadav’s pace and variation could be crucial for early breakthroughs for GT during the powerplay.
Weaknesses
Gujarat Titans’ consistent and solid bowling performance was a key factor in their success over the last two seasons. However, Hardik Pandya’s departure for Mumbai Indians and Mohammed Shami’s injury are huge blows for the team. GT also do not have any renowned all-rounders within their ranks, meaning squad depth and balance are a couple of issues they will have to cope with.
Meanwhile, not having any death-over specialists could also create lots of problems for them. Umesh Yadav, Spencer Johnson, and Mohit Sharma can provide wickets early on, but they tend to leak runs during the closing stages of the innings, which will be an area of concern for the Titans.
Opportunities
IPL 2024 will be a great opportunity for Shubman Gill to showcase his leadership qualities. If he can perform well and lead GT to IPL glory this year, Gill will also become a contender for India’s white-ball captaincy in Rohit Sharma’s absence.
Furthermore, Joshua Little, who is the first Irish player to play in the IPL, will be pumped up as he looks to make his mark after a below-par season last year where he took seven wickets. Spencer Johnson who brilliantly in Big Bash League 2023-24 to finish as the second-highest wicket-taker in the tournament with 19 scalps will also be eager to make his presence felt in the world’s biggest T20 stage for franchises.
Threats
Shubman Gill will be captaining Gujarat Titans for the first time in IPL 2024. How he handles the pressure of captaincy and how it impacts his batting form are the big questions on everyone’s minds. The Titans’ penchant for getting early breakthroughs with the new balls during the power plays in the last few seasons is another aspect of their game that will be under the scanner.
With Shami out injured, the Titans don’t have any well-established pacers who are known to make early inroads into the opposition batting line-up. Should they become over-dependent on Rashid Khan for wickets, it would be safe to assume that the Titans may find it difficult to make it to the playoffs, nevermind the final, which they have been a part of in both their seasons in the IPL so far.
Probable Playing XII
Shubman Gill (c), Wriddhiman Saha (wk), Sai Sudharsan, Vijay Shakar, David Miller, Azmatullah Omarzai, Rahul Tewatia, Rashid Khan, Mohit Sharma, Spencer Johnson, Umesh Yadav, Shahrukh Khan/ Kartik Tyagi (impact sub)
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