IPL 2022: Strongest Gujarat Titans Playing XI – Full Player List, Squad and Captain after Auction
One of the two new franchises entering the Indian Premier League (IPL) from this year onwards, Gujarat Titans (GT), constructed their first-ever squad at the IPL 2022 Mega Auction in Bangalore.
The Ahmedabad-based franchise, which had made three prominent pre-auction signings, added some notable buys to their kitty at the high-intense bidding war over two days.
Since GT signed premier Indian allrounder Hardik Pandya, opening batter Shubman Gill and ace wristspinner Rashid Khan with the intention to cover up bases, they were intent on compiling a talented squad around these big names.
Gujarat made five notable overseas buys at the auction table, with England opener Jason Roy, South African middle-order batter David Miller, New Zealand speedster Lockie Ferguson, Australian wicketkeeper-batter Matthew Wade and West Indies young quick Alzarri Joseph bolstering their final squad.
In their Indian contingent, GT brought in the likes of Wriddhiman Saha, Vijay Shankar and Rahul Tewatia, along with Varun Aaron, Sai Kishore, Jayant Yadav among others. The team made a decent feast of the bidding war and came out with some notable gains and some obvious chinks in their armoury.
Can Hardik Pandya lead Gujarat Titans to glory in the IPL 2022?
Full Gujarat Titans Squad for IPL 2022:
Abhinav Manohar, David Miller, Gurkeerat Singh, Jason Roy, Shubman Gill, Matthew Wade (wk), Wriddhiman Saha (wk), Alzarri Joseph, B Sai Sudharshan, Darshan Nalkande, Dominic Drakes, Hardik Pandya (c), Jayant Yadav, Rahul Tewatia & Vijay Shankar, Lockie Ferguson, Mohammed Shami, Pradeep Sangwan, Varun Aaron, Yash Dayal, Noor Ahmad, R Sai Kishore, Rashid Khan
Strongest Gujarat Titans Playing XI for IPL 2022:
Jason Roy, Shubman Gill, Wriddhiman Saha (wk), Vijay Shankar, David Miller, Hardik Pandya, Rahul Tewatia, Rashid Khan, Lockie Ferguson, Darshan Nalkande, Mohammed Shami
On paper, GT’s first XI seems to have an even spread of talented individuals across both departments of the game. However, a deeper look presents some obvious issues. The middle-order looks shaky for the Gujarat as they are banking on players like Saha, Shankar, Miller, who were released by their respective former franchises after struggling in IPL 2021.
The team has a strong opening pair where the dangerous Roy joins forces with the ever-promising Gill but then, again, they lack a greater sense of quality to their lower middle-order powerhitting. If Miller continues to fail in subcontinent conditions and Tewatia at 7 has one more poor season with the bat, GT will be left heavily dependent on their skipper Hardik to provide them the end-overs blitz. This, at a time when Hardik himself is improving his game against hard lengths.
The bowling looks stronger than the batting for GT, with the presence of Rashid, Ferguson and Shami in their likely first XI. The team also has the cushion of utility bowling options available to them in Shankar and Tewatia in case Hardik’s fitness issues hold his horses again.
Hardik Pandya – Gujarat Titans’ Captain for IPL 2022
Hardik Pandya will be captaining an IPL team for the first time ever in Gujarat’s maiden tryst with the biggest T20 league. The premier Indian allrounder was made captain during the pre-auction signing phase where GT roped him in at a huge sum of INR 15 crores. Hardik will have dual pressure on him, as he looks to rejuvenate himself as an allround cricketer and also try to captain GT to their first title.
Gujarat Titans Coaching and Support Staff for IPL 2022
Titans appointed former England batter Vikram Solanki as their Director of Cricket, besides naming ex South African left-hander Gary Kirsten as their head coach. They’ve also brought in former Indian pacer Ashish Nehra as their bowling consultant.