Gujarat Titans Team Preview IPL 2023: Hardik Pandya's Team Primed For Title Defence, Though 'Reserves' Must Step Up

Talk about being an instant hit! True to their name, Gujarat Titans put up a titanic show to win the Indian Premier League (IPL) in their debut season itself last year. In doing so, they emulated the late Shane Warne’s Rajasthan Royals, who won the inaugural edition of the tournament in 2008.

Ace allrounder Hardik Pandya, who had been a behemoth for five-time champions Mumbai Indians, was bought by the new Gujarat franchise before the start of the 2022 season. He not only carried his Mumbai Indians form over to his new franchise, but he also impressed one and all with his captaincy skills, which came as a pleasant surprise and added another angle to his already potent batting, bowling and fielding abilities.

“We were all taken by surprise. Come on, who thought Hardik Pandya would be such a raging success in the IPL as a captain? In a long season, just the way he handles the team. Just how he looked as a leader was surprising. Considering he is bowling now and the impact he is making on the field, this is the right time to reward Hardik with leadership,” the outspoken cricket-turned-commentator Sanjay Manjrekar told ESPNCricinfo.

Also Read: Delhi Capitals Team Preview For IPL 2023

What has really stood out with regard to Pandya’s captaincy was his calm and composed handling of situations, a’la Mahendra Singh Dhoni, who Pandya acknowledges, had played a “big role” in his life.

Pandya’s young teammates have vouched for him. “Hardik and Mahi bhai (MS Dhoni) are pretty similar in the way they handle things, they both are pretty calm,” said Sai Kishore, who has played under both Dhoni and Pandya. Pacer Shivam Mavi, who joined the franchise this year, also talked about Pandya’s support when he started playing for the national side.

What stands the Titans in good stead this year is also the fact that they made some smart purchases in the mini-auction at the end of last year. They bought the former Sunrisers Hyderabad captain Kane Williamson, West Indies’ Odean Smith and IPL veteran Mohit Sharma at their base prices and for Mavi, India wicketkeeper KS Bharat and Irish bowler Josh Little, the Titans shelled out more than their base prices.

Williamson, especially, is a big addition to the side. The New Zealander’s 2,101 runs at an average of 36.22 and a strike rate of 126.03 make for an impressive reading. He can be your ideal opener or No 3 and can be a quality sheet anchor for the likes of Pandya, David Miller and Shubman Gill. He can also accelerate according to need without even playing a single rash shot.

The fact that Gill has been going through a purple patch of late is also going to be a real boon for the Titans and Miller’s lusty hitting is always something to watch out for.

The bowling is in good hands with the pace of Mohammad Shami and Alzarri Joseph, who holds the best bowling figure (6/12) in an innings in the IPL, and the guile of Rashid Khan. Rahul Tewatia, R Sai Kishore and Jayant Yadav will be important members of the supporting cast.

The Titans, therefore, have the team to emulate Mumbai Indians and win back-to-back trophies. However, in a marathon tournament like the IPL, in which squad depth is of paramount importance, whether the Titans are able to go all the way again will depend on how their ‘reserves’ shape up. Players like Abhinav Manohar, Noor Ahmad, Pradeep Sangwan, Mohit Sharma, Vijay Shankar, Sai Sudharsan and KS Bharat will have to be on top of their game if and when called to action as injury cover, strategic replacements, or as an ‘impact player’.

Playing in front of one lakh people at Ahmedabad’s Narendra Modi Stadium and Gujarat’s favourite son Hardik Pandya leading a Gujarat-based franchise will be added advantage.

How They Fared Last Time

The Titans not just won the title in their first season itself, but they did it with a degree of authority that is seldom seen. They topped the points table, winning all but four of their 14 matches, beating every team at least once, except Mumbai Indians. The Titans faced their captain’s former franchise only once last season and lost. Apart from that, their record was pretty much speckless. The Titans breezed through the knockouts too, beating Rajasthan Royals by seven wickets in both the qualifier and the final.

Gill, Pandya, Miller and Rashid were their standout performers last season. Gill impressed with a 59-ball 96 against Punjab Kings, 46-ball 84 off Delhi Capitals, 36-ball 52 versus Mumbai Indians and 49-ball 63 versus Lucknow Super Giants.

Also Read | Mumbai Indians Team Preview IPL 2023

Pandya was in great form with both bat and ball, taking 3/17 versus Rajasthan Royals and playing knocks of 40* (27) and 87* (52) versus Rajasthan Royals, 62* (47) versus Royal Challengers Bangalore and 67 (49) versus Kolkata Knight Riders.

Miller was merciless on the bowlers, notching up scores of 94*(51) against Chennai Super Kings, 31*(14) and 68*(38) and 32(19) against Rajasthan Royals.

Rashid’s figures of 4/24 versus Lucknow Super Giants and 3/22 versus Punjab Kings stood out.

Wriddhiman Saha and Rahul Tewatia with the bat and R Sai Kishore with the ball also put in some stellar contributions.

Top Players to Watch Out For

Hardik Pandya: The Titans captain is a quality allrounder and a sharp fielder. He was fourth on the list of highest run-getters last season with 487 runs in 15 innings. He also bagged eight wickets. Pandya had been brilliant for five-time champions Mumbai Indians as well where he struck a partnership with his elder brother Krunal. In 107 career matches in the IPL so far, Pandya has amassed 1,963 runs at a strike rate of 147.59 and also scalped 50 wickets. Pandya adds depth to any side and is a proven match-winner.

Rashid Khan: The wily Afghan leg-spinner is a global superstar and has made a name for himself not just in the IPL, but also in other major T20 leagues of the world like the Big Bash League and the Pakistan Super League. He was the third-highest wicket-taker in the PSL with 20 victims in 11 matches and played a big part in Lahore Qalandars’ title triumph. Rashid is not a big spinner of the ball and concentrates on a wicket-to-wicket line. His main strengths are his speed through the air and his vicious googly that comes into the right-hander. Rashid can also hit a long ball and is extremely handy lower down the order.

Shubman Gill: He has scored six centuries, including a double century, across the three formats of international cricket since December 2022. His ODI double ton made him the youngest to achieve the feat. Gill had a rollicking time in the IPL last season, scoring 483 runs at a strike rate of 132.33. He was fifth on the list of highest run-getters last year. If Gill can give his side a fast headstart, the Titans will be having favourable results more often than not.

David Miller: The South African power-hitter was placed sixth on the list of highest run-getters last year right below his teammates Pandya and Gill with 481 runs. Miller has the record of the third-fastest century in the history of the IPL, having scored 101 off 38 balls for the erstwhile Kings XI Punjab against Royal Challengers Bangalore in 2013. When he gets going, Miller can take the game away from the opposition in a matter of a few overs. He will, however, miss the Titans’ first match owing to international commitments.

Strongest Playing XI

Wriddhiman Saha (wk), Shubman Gill, Kane Williamson, Hardik Pandya(c), David Miller, Rahul Tewatia, Rashid Khan, Mohit Sharma, Jayant Yadav, Alzarri Joseph, Mohammad Shami

Full Squad

Hardik Pandya(c), Alzarri Joseph, Abhinav Manohar, Mohammed Shami, Noor Ahmad, Rashid Khan, Ravisrinivasan Sai Kishore, Pradeep Sangwan, Mohit Sharma, Shubman Gill, Rahul Tewatia, Kane Williamson, Yash Dayal, Jayant Yadav, Matthew Wade, Odean Smith, Shivam Mavi, Vijay Shankar, Sai Sudharsan, Wriddhiman Saha, Urvil Patel, Darshan Nalkande, David Miller, Josh Little and KS Bharat.

Gujarat Titans Full Schedule:

• Match 1: March 31 – Gujarat Titans vs Chennai Super Kings, 7:30 PM IST, Ahmedabad
• Match 2: April 4 – Gujarat Titans vs Delhi Capitals, 7:30 PM IST, Delhi
• Match 3: April 9 – Gujarat Titans vs Kolkata Knight Riders, 3:30 PM IST, Ahmedabad
• Match 4: April 13 – Gujarat Titans vs Punjab Kings, 7:30 PM IST, Mohali
• Match 5: April 16 – Gujarat Titans vs Rajasthan Royals, 7:30 PM IST, Ahmedabad
• Match 6: April 22 – Gujarat Titans vs Lucknow Super Giants, 3:30 PM IST, Lucknow
• Match 7: April 25 – Gujarat Titans vs Mumbai Indians, 7:30 PM IST, Ahmedabad
• Match 8: April 29 – Gujarat Titans vs Kolkata Knight Riders, 3:30 PM IST, Kolkata
• Match 9: May 2 – Gujarat Titans vs Delhi Capitals, 7:30 PM IST, Ahmedabad
• Match 10: May 5 – Gujarat Titans vs Rajasthan Royals, 7:30 PM IST, Jaipur
• Match 11: May 7 – Gujarat Titans vs Lucknow Super Giants, 3:30 PM IST, Ahmedabad
• Match 12: May 12 – Gujarat Titans vs Mumbai Indians, 7:30 PM IST, Mumbai
• Match 13: May 15 – Gujarat Titans vs Sunrisers Hyderabad, 7:30 PM IST, Ahmedabad
• Match 14: May 20 – Gujarat Titans vs Royal Challengers Bangalore, 7:30 PM IST, Bengaluru

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