IPL auctions: Gill, Sudarshan, Buttler and the gaps around them; what puzzles do the Gujarat Titans have to solve in Abu Dhabi | Cricket News
Among the two teams added to the Indian Premier League (IPL) in 2022, Gujarat Titans (GT) and Lucknow Super Giants (LSG), GT has been more consistent. With a winning percentage of 75%, GT even won the IPL in its first season, breaking the 5-year streak of two IPL giants, MI and CSK, who won 5 IPL trophies between them from 2017 to 2021.The Titans finished their second season (2023) as runners-up, after being beaten by CSK on the last ball. Their winning percentage in 2023 dropped slightly to 64.7With just 5 wins in 14 matches and a winning percentage of 41.7, the 2024 season was a disaster for the Gujarat Titans as they finished 8th in the points table. This was also the season when their then captain Hardik Pandya was traded to Mumbai Indians, and GT had a new captain in Shubman Gill.However, GT had a good season last year after the mega auction and qualified for the playoffs, but were defeated in the Eliminator by Mumbai Indians (MI).As teams prepare to rebuild their squads and fill gaps for the upcoming season (2026) in next week’s auction on December 16, here’s a look at GT’s strength, the gaps they need to fill, and the players they would like to include in the team.
Gujarat Titans Highlights
The Titans’ biggest strength last season was their top-order batting, which included Sai Sudarshan, Subhman Gill and Jos Buttler. Each of them scored more than 500 points last season, and also scored them quickly. In 15 matches, Shubman Gill and Sai Sudarshan scored 650 and 759 runs with strike rates of 155.88 and 156.17, respectively. Jos Buttler scored 538 runs in 13 innings at a strike rate of 163.03.Together they also hit 69 sixes during the season. The GT would believe and hope that its top three will also be running at full throttle in the upcoming season.
Where did they fight?
The top three batted magnificently all season last year; however, as a result, this also resulted in GT’s middle and lower orders not being given enough chances. And when they did, it seemed like they weren’t at their best.Sherfane Rutherford (256 runs in 10 innings at 151.38) was one of their strong points in the middle order, but GT traded him to Mumbai Indians before the auction, so the gap in their middle order only widened.An even bigger question GT faces is that of Rashid Khan. The ace Leggie had a rare offseason last year and his form became a source of concern for the franchise.In 15 matches, the Afghan spinner managed to take only 9 wickets and conceded runs at an economy of 9.35 at an average of 57.11.GT’s bowling woes were not limited to Rashid Khan. While Prasidh Krishna had a prolific season, taking 25 wickets at an economy of 8.27, he did not receive enough support from others.Excluding the Eliminator, the GT bowlers’ season can be divided into two parts: the first five matches and the next nine. In the first 5 matches, GT bowlers took 37 wickets and conceded only 8.72 runs per over. In the next nine league matches, they managed to take only 45 wickets and handed out runs at an economy rate of 9.87.In the first five league matches, GT took 10 wickets in Powerplay. While in the following nine league matches they only managed to win 9.
Gaps to be filled in IPL auctions
In the upcoming auction, GT will look to strengthen their middle and lower order and add an experienced fast bowler who can bowl at the death.The Titans would love to avail the services of Australian fast bowling all-rounder Cameron Green, but with just Rs 12.9 crore in purse remaining, that would be far from the case. So they will have to look for other options to solve their middle order problem, someone like David Miller could well be on GT’s radar.Among the fast bowlers, Anrich Nortje, Matheesa Pathirana, Mustafizur Rahman and Alzarri Joseph are among the options available in the auction, but with the limited purse available, it would be interesting to see which of them GT can include in their squad, if they manage to include him.
