Here are three auction picks that could hurt Gujarat Titans in IPL 2025.
Gujarat Titans (GT) will once again look to solidify their place as serious title contenders when the 2025 edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL) gets underway on March 22. After winning their maiden title in 2022 and losing to Chennai Super Kings (CSK) in the IPL final a year later, the Titans endured an eighth-place finish in IPL 2024. That meant they missed out on the playoffs for the first-ever time and it won’t be an easy pathway for them in the upcoming season.
Gujarat Titans retained a core of their side, including skipper Shubman Gill, Rashid Khan, Sai Sudharsan, Rahul Tewatia, and Shahrukh Khan. While GT acquired some big names like Kagiso Rabada, Mohammed Siraj, and Jos Buttler, getting the services of these players may not always end up with a positive outcome.
Here are three auction decisions that could cost Gujarat Titans in IPL 2025.
Gujarat Titans have acquired quality pacers like Kagiso Rabada and Mohammed Siraj. Prasidh Krishna, Gerald Coetzee, and Ishant Sharma are also valuable bowling options. However, GT lack a quality bowler who can deliver under pressure in the death overs.
Both Rabada and Siraj have struggled for consistency in the death overs in the IPL in the past few seasons. In IPL 2024, Rabada, who played for Punjab Kings, took just two wickets from five innings while bowling in the death overs. Siraj, on the other hand, collected just five wickets in 12 innings in the same phase.
ALSO READ:
Rashid is another option who can deliver in the death overs, but the Titans could be tempted to play a majority of his overs in the middle stage of the innings. This leaves the Titans with lack of a consistent bowler who can impress at the death.
There seems to be a concern with the Titans middle-order batting lineup. They have Tewatia and Shahrukh to stabilise that middle-order, but the Titans have to be vary as to not rely on this duo too much. Glenn Phillips and Sherfane Rutherford are also there but their form altogether have been somewhat inconsistent.
Gujarat run the risk of being very top-heavy with the heavyweights Shubman Gill, Sai Sudharsan, and Jos Buttler occupying the top three. Below that, it’s a very unstable line-up with the likes of David Miller gone. A lot will hinge on how good a season the likes of Phillips or Rutherford have with the Indian domestic options not quite having lived up to expectations in recent seasons.
Gujarat Titans have a number of Indian backup players as far as batters are concerned. They include Mahipal Lomror, Anuj Rawat, and Kumar Kushagra. However, neither of them have produced eye-catching performances, something which Kolkata Knight Riders’ Angkrish Raghuvanshi did last season.
Lomror is most likely to be the only one among these three players who could feature in the playing XI. But if the other two players get their chances at all, they will have to make sure to live up to their expectations and deliver when it matters the most.
For more updates, follow CricXtasy on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Telegram, and YouTube.
