IPL 2022: Gujarat Titans (GT) Best Playing 11, Strength and Weakness, Prediction

Bengaluru, March 24: The Indian Premier League newcomers Gujarat Giants did well before the auction with some smart draft picks, but completely went off path at the IPL 2022 auction ending up with an unbalanced squad loaded with bowling options.

GT picked Hardik Pandya, Rashid Khan and Shubman Gill during the pre-auction draft picks and made some good additions to bowling department at the two-day mega auction. However, their batting looks very thin on paper.

Although they retained Gill, the Titans failed to add another Indian batting option to the team. They also received a huge blow weeks ahead of the season after Jason Roy, who was picked as an opening partner for Gill, pulled out of the tournament.

All-round options also is stacked, but all of them can't be accommodated at the same time, and more importantly skipper Pandya's fitness to bowl will be a crucial factor for the team.

As it's their first season in the IPL, we may need to wait and see how their season pans out. A run of 3 or 4 wins to start off their campaign may do them a word of good. But, anything other than that may be a blow to them.

GT will begin their journey in IPL with a meeting against fellow newcomers Lucknow Super Giants on Monday (March 28) at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai.

Now, here is a look at the Gujarat Titans strengths, weakness, best playing and prediction for IPL 2022:

Strengths

The stacked bowling department is the biggest strength of the IPL debutants. While pace duo of Mohammed Shami and Lockie Ferguson are expected to spearhead the line-up, mercurial Rashid Khan and R Sai Kishore will play the role of the tweakers with some tight bowling.

The bowling line-up also includes Yash Dayal, Dominic Drakes, Pradeep Sangwan, Jayant Yadav, Alzarri Joseph among a few others. GT's season will depend on their bowlers to carry them in most of the matches.

Although their batting is thin on paper, GT possess some power-hitting players that can finish off games like Pandya, Abhinav Sadarangani, Rahul Tewatia and Vijay Shankar. Tewatia, Shankar and Pandya can also roll their arms over to add depth to the strong bowling line-up.

Weakness

With Roy pulling out, GT have a huge problem in finalizing a line-up despite the presence of Wriddhiman Saha and Matthew Wade, who are able to play as openers.

The duo though can't replicate Roy's quick-paced knocks. And that is something that will be a worry for GT as Gill too is not known to get off the blocks quickly.

Number 3 also seems to be a question mark due to the lack of a proper batter (Indian or overseas) in the squad. Vijay Shankar, Saha and Sadarangani may battle for that slot.

At number 4 too, they will hope David Miller is on top of his game to take the game deep for the other power-hitters to finish off the games. But the South African has failed to be consistent over the last few seasons, creating another worry for GT.

GT Squad for IPL 2022

Batters: Shubman Gill, Abhinav Sadarangani, David Miller (overseas), Gurkeerat Singh Mann

Wicketkeepers: Matthew Wade (overseas), Wriddhiman Saha, Rahmanullah Gurbaz (overseas)

All-rounders: Hardik Pandya, Rahul Tewatia, Vijay Shankar, Dominic Drakes (overseas), B Sai Sudharsan

Fast Bowlers: Mohammed Shami, Lockie Ferguson, Yash Dayal, Alzarri Joseph (overseas), Pradeep Sangwan, Varun Aaron, Darshan Nalkande

Spinners: Rashid Khan (overseas), Noor Ahmed (overseas), R Sai Kishore, Jayant Yadav

Support staff: Ashish Nehra (head coach), Vikram Solanki (director of cricket), Gary Kirsten (batting coach and mentor), Aashish Kapoor (spin bowling coach and scout).

GT Best Playing XI

Shubman Gill, Matthew Wade (wicketkeeper), Vijay Shankar, David Miller, Abhinav Sadarangani, Hardik Pandya (captain), Rahul Tewatia, R Sai Kishore, Rashid Khan, Mohammed Shami, Lockie Ferguson.

Prediction

The newcomers Gujarat Titans will hope their bowlers fire them to a decent finish this season. A lack of good Indian batting option and also overseas batters may impact their hopes of a play-off spot.

A place in the bottom-half may be the final outcome for GT if their bowling department lets them down. But if the bowling line-up clicks and their power-hitters live up to their expectation, GT may spring a surprise.

Story first published: Thursday, March 24, 2022, 9:53 [IST]

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