GT vs CSK Dream11 prediction, IPL 2023: Gujarat Titans vs Chennai Super Kings fantasy picks

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GT vs CSK Dream11 prediction, IPL 2023: Defending champions Gujarat Titans will take on four-time champions Chennai Super Kings in the opening match of the Indian Premier League 16 at their home ground Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad on Friday (March 31). The match will start at 7:30 PM IST.

A star-studded clash will see MS Dhoni return to the field and captain the most popular side in IPL against Hardik Pandya's Gujarat Titans. The Ahmedabad-based outfit will have a psychological advantage over Friday's rivals as GT defeated CSK twice in the league stages in their inaugural season.

GT vs CSK injury update, key players

Gujarat Titans injury update: GT have no injury concerns going into the game but South African batter David Miller is unavailable as he is away on international duty until April 3. Ireland pacer Josh Little, who couldn't play in the Pakistan Super League, has joined the Gujarat Titans after missing out Bangladesh vs Ireland series.

GT wicketkeepers: Matthew Wade and Wriddhiman Saha likely to play

Gujarat Titans have as many as four wicket-keepers in Wriddhiman Saha, Matthew Wade, Srikar Bharat, and Urvil Patel. 38-year-old Wriddhiman opened for Gujarat Titans last season and is likely to retain that spot while Matthew Wade may feature in the lineup as well with Miller's absence raising the need for an overseas batter.

Out-of-favour Indian wicket-keeper Wriddhiman, however, has been out of action since January as he featured for Tripura in the Ranji Trophy. Wade, on the other hand, has been out of the Australian team too with the rise of Alex Carey and featured in the Pakistan Super League recently for Karachi Kings. Opening for the side, who finished last in the points table, Wade had an above-par showing at the event with 244 runs at an average of 28.

GT batters: Shubman Gill and Kane Williamson to shoulder responsibility of building innings' foundation

The onus of setting up Gujarat Titans for a big total will fall on the likes of Shubman Gill and Kane Williamson, who are among the most talented batters in the business. Gill scored runs galore during the strings of the home series in 2023 and has centuries in all the formats this year in international cricket.

Veteran Williamson has been no different as he scored a double century in Test recently and has two consecutive centuries before that. He also scored a double ton against Pakistan late last year. However, with ODI World Cup coming up next, the 32-year-old batter has often skipped T20I games.

GT All-rounders: Hardik Pandya and Rahul Tewatia hold key

Skipper Hardik Pandya will be the face of Gujarat Titans as they look to defend their title. Pandy comes into IPL 2023 confident as he led India to T20 series win against New Zealand and Sri Lanka this year and also was the stand-in captain in India's sole win against Australia in the ODI series loss.

Rahul Tewatia was a key lower-order batter last year as he was striking at a rate of 147-plus and managed 217 runs in 12 games. His bowling duties were limited as he bowled just six overs and took no wickets while giving away runs at an economy rate of 12-plus.

The left-arm spinner, however, had a good showing with the ball for his domestic side Haryana, as he took 13 wickets in the last five games in the Vijay Hazare Trophy last November.

Vijay Shankar had a poor IPL 2022 and got to play just four games last season. The '3D' all-rounder will look to change all of that this season after the batter had a good showing at the Ranji Trophy for Tamil Nadu with three back-to-back centuries and two half-centuries. Shankar, however, wasn't that effective with the ball as Tamil Nadu made group stage exit.

West Indies all-rounder Odean Smith is among the sole foreign all-round option for the team and the pace all-rounder had a non-remarkable Windies vs South Africa white-ball series and featured in PSL 8 for Quetta Gladiators, who just won three games in the season.

Gujarat Titans bowlers: Rashid Khan comes to IPL in hot form

Afghan leg-spinner Rashid Khan was Gujarat's second-highest wicket-taker last year with 19 wickets and will be ambitious about his chances of winning the Purple Cap after his splendid show at the PSL. The Afghan captain took 20 wickets in 11 games for Lahore Qalandars, who also won the title this year.

Pacer Mohammad Shami will be leading the pace attack as he took the most wicket (20) for the franchise. However, the player's decline in form in the shortest format has already cost him his place in the national T20 side, and will have a point to prove. The Indian pacer, however, will lack the support of Lockie Ferguson from the other end as the express New Zealand pacer was traded off to Kolkata Knight Riders.

Pacer Alzarri Joseph will be expected to play a bigger role as he took five-wicket against South Africa during the T20 series recently. Shivam Mavi will be expected to play an important role too after the Noida-based pacer earned an India call-up and played in the T20 series against Sri Lanka and New Zealand.

There is further depth in the GT's pace bowling in Ireland's Joshua Little, UP's Yash Dayal, IPL veterans Pradip Sangwan and Mohit Sharma while R Sai Kishore and Jayant Yadav are further spin options.

CSK injury update, team news

CSK will be without left-arm pacer Mukesh Choudhary, who is out with a back injury with no timeline set for his return. A knee injury will also keep all-rounder Ben Stokes away from bowling but he is available as a batter.

CSK wicket-keepers: MS Dhoni returns

Fans are expected to get emotional as MS Dhoni returns to the field after playing the last IPL but his form remains questionable due to months of inaction. This makes Devon Conway, who is expected to open, a better bet among wicket-keepers as the New Zealanders scored half-century against India during the T20s and also slammed a century in the ODIs as well.

CSK batters: Hopes high from Gaikwad; Rayudu and Rahane hope to turn back years

Hopes will be high from Ruturaj Gaikwad, who had a terrific domestic season as he slammed five centuries, including a double ton and a 195, for Maharashtra. Out-of-favour Indian veteran Ajinkya Rahane will be hoping to transform his domestic form into the IPL as well after some scintillating knocks for Mumbai.

Ambati Rayudu returns as well but his form remains questionable after the batter lacked big knocks during the Vijay Hazare Trophy for Baroda and wasn't picked up for the Ranji squad either. Shivam Dube is expected to play an important role in the lower order after a decent showing as a finisher for Mumbai in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy back in November.

CSK all-rounders: Ravindra Jadeja set the record straight

Ravindra Jadeja will be aiming to be back in Chennai Super Kings on good terms after a tumultuous last year when he lost his captaincy after the team's poor show. Jadeja must be high on confidence after a good showing during the Border Gavaskar series following his return from a prolonged injury, that forced him to miss the T20 World Cup last year.

The franchises' two Englishmen Ben Stokes and Moeen Ali are expected to play a bigger role as well with the latter also taking over the role of top-order batter. Stokes, on the other hand, will only play as a batter during the initial stages due to a knee injury. He will also miss the fag end of the season to focus on Ashes preparations.

Dwaine Pretorius and Mitchell Santner are further foreign options. Pretorius is expected to be a utility player as his recent form at PSL left a lot to be desired while Santner had a discolour tour of India with New Zealand back in January.

CSK bowlers: Deepak Chahar aim to remind his worth

Deepak Chahar has been a reliable name for Chennai Super Kings since his IPL debut in 2016 with 59 wickets in 63 games. The medium pacer took 48 of those wickets in the last three seasons. Chahar, however, lost his spot in the Indian team after back-to-back injuries, including the T20 World Cup.

While Mukesh Choudhary is unavailable for the game, former India U-19 pacer Rajvardhan Hangargekar may get an opportunity in the playing 11. The youngster impressed with his pace during the World Cup and also took a five-wicket haul against UP during the Vijay Hazare Trophy back in November.

Sisada Magala, who played for CSK's sister side Jo'burg Super Kings in SA20, has been roped in to replace Jamieson. Magala was the joint fifth-highest wicket-taker for the side at the event. Similar to the Protea, Lankan mystery spinner Mahessh Theeksana joins in after playing in the SA20 for Jo'burg.

Tushar Deshpande adds to further back seam bowling options while Sri Lanka's Matheesha Pathirana will be in the spotlight for his round-arm bowling action imitating Sri Lanka's T20 great Lasith Malinga. Pathirana also got experience of franchise cricket under his belt as he played in the ILT20, Lankan Premier League and Dubai T10 League.

GT vs CSK squads

Gujarat Titans squad: Hardik Pandya (c), Wriddhiman Saha (wk), Matthew Wade (wk), KS Bharat (wk), Urvil Patel (wk), Kane Williamson, Shubman Gill, David Miller (unavailable till April 3), Abhinav Manohar, B Sai Sudharsan, Rashid Khan, Odean Smith, Rahul Tewatia, Jayant Yadav, Vijay Shankar, Mohammed Shami, Alzarri Joseph, Mohit Sharma, Josh Little, Pradeep Sangwan, Shivam Mavi, Yash Dayal, Darshan Nalkande, Noor Ahmad, R Sai Kishore

CSK squad: MS Dhoni (c & wk), Ruturaj Gaikwad, Devon Conway, Ajinkya Rahane, Ambati Rayudu, Shaik Rasheed, Subhranshu Senapati, Ben Stokes, Ravindra Jadeja, Moeen Ali, Dwaine Pretorius, Mitchell Santner, Shivam Dube, Rajvardhan Hangargekar, Nishant Sandhu, Bhagath Verma, Ajay Mandal, Deepak Chahar, Sisanda Magala (replaced Kylie Jamieson), Matheesha Pathirana, Maheesh Theekshana, Mukesh Choudhary, Simarjeet Singh, Prashant Solanki, Tushar Deshpande.

Gujarat Titans vs Chennai Super Kings predicted playing XI

Gujarat Titans predicted playing 11 vs CSK: Wriddhiman Saha (wk), Shubman Gill, Kane Williamson, Matthew Wade, Hardik Pandya (c), Rahul Tewatia, Rashid Khan, R Sai Kishore, Mohammed Shami, Alzarri Joseph, Yash Dayal.

CSK predicted playing 11 vs Gujarat Titans: Ruturaj Gaikwad, Devon Conway, Ambati Rayudu/Ajinkya Rahane, Ben Stokes, Moeen Ali, Ravindra Jadeja, Shivam Dube, MS Dhoni (c & wk), Rajvardhan Hangargekar, Mitchell Santner, Deepak Chahar.

Gujarat Titans vs Chennai Super Kings pitch report GT vs CSK

The Narendra Modi Stadium pitch has known to have pitches that offer something to the spinners as the match progresses. However, with just 40 overs of play on the evening, there are a lot of runs expected to be on the offer for the batters. The venue has five black soil pitches and six red soil pitches with the latter providing more bounce and pace to the bowlers while the red soil is more conducive for the spinners.

GT vs CSK Dream11 prediction Royal Gujarat Titans vs Chennai Super Kings

GT vs CSK Dream11 prediction 1

Wicketkeeper: D Conway, M Wade, W Saha
Batter: S Gill, R Gaikwad, K Williamson
All-rounder: R Jadeja, B Stokes, H Pandya, M Ali
Bowler: Rashid-Khan

GT vs CSK Dream11 prediction 2

Wicketkeeper: D Conway
Batter: S Gill, R Gaikwad, K Williamson, A Rayudu
All-rounder: R Jadeja, B Stokes, H Pandya, M Ali
Bowler: Rashid-Khan, D Chahar

Captain and vice-captain choices: With runs on the grab, betting on top-order batters like R Gaikwad, and Shubman Gill could be a smart move. While impact players like H Pandya, M Ali could play a crucial role as well.