Gujarat Titans have already created a legacy for themselves in their 2 years of participation, winning the title on debut and coming agonisingly close to retaining it the following year. While the Titans have somewhat been under-the-radar performers, they will be dragged to the spotlight due to the apparent shift of Hardik Pandya to the Mumbai Indians after leading them for two years.
When Hardik's former franchise come out without him to face his current, tensions are likely to flare up. But Hardik is only one of the two stars that the Titans will miss, having underpinned their dominance in the previous two years gone by. Mohammed Shami has been ruled out of the entire season due to an ankle injury and is currently in recovery after undergoing surgery.
Shubman Gill's rawness in captaincy looms as the biggest challenge:
Despite having plenty of brains to pick on like David Miller, Kane Williamson, and Rashid Khan, Gill's inexperience as captain could prove to be the biggest challenge as he steps into the cauldron of the biggest T20 league. A lean season in 2024 due to captaincy burden following a run-fest will be the last thing Gill needs, but it is equally an opportunity to grow into the role, given a national team captaincy could also be on the horizon.
And who better than Ashish Nerha and Gary Kirsten to mentor him?
And yet, all the above-mentioned issues are only minute and one would back the Titans to go all the way yet again. The think tank made some smart purchases in the auction in Shah Rukh Khan, Azmatullah Omarzai, Spencer Johnson, Kartik Tyagi, and Umesh Yadav among others.
Gujarat Titans have all the bases covered:
The Titans' speciality continues of having players to fulfil every role. Batters like Shubman Gill, B Sai Sudharsan, and Kane Williamson can fulfil the anchor role and up the ante when required. The likes of Vijay Shankar, Azmatullah Omarzai, and Abhinav Manohar can keep the scoreboard ticking and force the fielding side to make those mistakes.
Following them can be David Miller, Rahul Tewatia, and Rashid Khan - all three of whom can turn the game on their heads. In the bowling department, Umesh Yadav can certainly fill Shami's void, while Mohit Sharma offers an excellent option, evidenced by his outstanding comeback last year. Kartik Tyagi and Darshan Nalkande are also of the same ilk and should be more than handy.
Josh Little and Spencer Johnson provide the left-arm variation, with the latter capable of generating the steep bounce using his height. The uncapped Sushant Mishra is yet another in that same department.
Rashid Khan is arguably the kingpin of the spin-bowling department, with able colleagues in Noor Ahmed, Sai Kishore, Tewatia, and Jayant Yadav.
