The franchise have an all-important mini-auction ahead of them in December.
The Gujarat Titans (GT) have been one of the teams which have had a very silent trade window in the lead up to the IPL 2026 auction. The only time they made an headline was with their trade involving Sherfane Rutherford to the Mumbai Indians (MI). However, with the mini-auction on the horizon, the GT target sheet will be amongst the most discussed topics in the franchise.
The franchise have opted to retain most of their core, including Shubman Gill and Sai Sudharsan – two openers who have been in prolific form since the last two seasons for GT. That being said, the management has also backed the likes of quality players like Jos Buttler, Mohammed Siraj and Kagiso Rabada – which will certainly add up to the team’s experience.
Though the top-order for the Gujarat Titans looks pretty sorted from the outset, their death bowling iss something that might need a bit of work. The likes of Siraj, Rabada and Ishant Sharma have the potential to be sublime with the new ball in hand, but are yet to prove their mettle at the death. The franchise has a purse of INR 12.9 Crore left in their kitty, and the Gujarat Titans targets might include an overseas death bowler.
Before we head towards the type of overseas death bowler that the franchise might need, let us have a look at what the playing XI for the Gujarat Titans looks like, and what can be the significant gaps to fill ahead of the mini-auction.
With a decent purse in their ranks, the franchise might include a domestic middle-order batter and an overseas death bowling specialist in the GT target sheet ahead of the event on December 16 in Abu Dhabi.
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As mentioned earlier, the Shubman Gill-led side have got most of their boxes ticked before the mini-auction, but will need that one player who would give their death bowling a finishing touch. Bowlers like Lungi Ngidi and Mohit Sharma would be a part of the mini-auction, and would be serious contenders to grab some good deals ahead of the 19th IPL edition.
Lungi Ngidi would be the top contender for the GT target players list for the next season, considering the fact that the Protea pacer has developed some good options in terms of his variations and can unsettle the batters at the back-end of an innings. To add to that, Ngidi can also provide the franchise with some overs in the middle of the innings, in order to choke the run-flow of the batters and break the momentum.
The 29-year-old pacer has not had a lot of experience when it comes to the Indian Premier League. He has featured in a brief 16 matches, but has garnered 29 wickets in the same. Moreover, his economy in the IPL has been 8.53, which is extremely good for a pacer with the speeds that Ngidi bowls at – especially when the batter is looking to come after the bowling.
The South African pacer was never known for his pace. Rather, Ngidi is known for his accuracy and has recently developed a lot of variations, which make him an able pick for the death overs role. In 24 matches across the SA20 league, he has bagged 26 wickets, and possesses a four-wicket haul in both the IPL as well as SA20 leagues. Ngidi would surely add to the death-bowling strength for GT.
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