 "Gujarat Titans failed to qualify for the IPL playoffs for the very first time. PTI image")
Gujarat Titans (GT) endured a difficult Indian Premier League (IPL) season in the post-Hardik Pandya era, finishing with just 12 points from 14 games, with their last two matches being washed out due to rain. With Hardik leaving the 2022 champions for his former side Mumbai Indians (MI), Shubman Gill was given the responsibility of leading the side who had also missed star pacer Mohammed Shami due to injury.
There were other problems too —Rashid Khan was returning from an injury and he wasn’t the old Rashid we know for a large part of the tournament due to injury. GT’s middle-order batting also looked pretty ordinary, and their fielding was not upto standards.
With their season now having been done and dusted , we now take a look at Gujarat Titans’ IPL 2024 and five things that went wrong for them:
The Hardik Pandya void
It was always going to be difficult for a team like GT to fill in a gap left by their former, title-winning skipper in Hardik. Not only was he an inspirational leader for his side, but also the fact that players in the GT camp had full faith in Hardik also meant that it was difficult for them to move on.
Simply put, Hardik was a match-winner for GT and the side were just not able to find a match-winner of Hardik’s calibre. In Hardik’s absence, Shubman Gill was named the Titans’ skipper and it was a mixed bag of sorts.
Impact Shorts
More ShortsIt wasn’t always bad selection calls from Gill that led to GT’s defeats often, but lack of flexibility within the team. Injuries were also another concern for GT, with Rashid, David Miller and Wriddhiman Saha being the major victims.
Rashid Khan, David Miller not up to the best
There was lack of balance in the GT setup and it wasn’t just because of Hardik’s exit. Afghanistan spinner Rashid Khan was coming fresh off a back injury and the task was always going to be cut out for him.
One of his forgettable spells with the ball was when he endured figures of 0/51 against RCB. Overall, Rashid just managed to take 10 wickets from 12 matches. That’s his lowest-ever wickets tally in the IPL.
Similarly, David Miller’s role this season was limited to nine matches this season and scored just 210 runs, with a highest score of 55 against DC.
Shubman Gill’s batting takes a backseat
For a batter who ended IPL 2023 as the highest run-scorer with 890 runs, much was expected from Gill to perform.
Although his 426 runs from 12 innings at 147.4 does not read that bad, Gill was still struggling to find consistency with his questionable timing and placement of his shots.
Mohammed Shami’s absence
Mohammed Shami missed the entire IPL 2024 with Gujarat Titans due to an ankle injury and that meant Gujarat Titans were depleted without their best bowler. After all, Shami was the Purple Cap winner in IPL 2023 with 28 wickets, so GT lacked someone who could lead from the front as far as their bowling attack is concerned.
Mohit Sharma was by far their best bowler with 13 scalps from 12 matches but even he went for an economy rate of 10.39. Mohit was GT’s death overs specialist and despite a promising start to the season where he picked eight wickets from six matches, he lost his rhythm in the second half of the season. To add to his woes, Mohit endured the worst-ever IPL figures of 0/73 against DC in Delhi.
Fielding unit does not click
They say catches win you matches and it’s the fielders that often change the complexion of their game. However, GT’s fielders were far from their best throughout the season, with clashes against Lucknow Super Giants and Punjab Kings being a couple of examples where their fielders were a let down.
During their home game against PBKS, Ashutosh Sharma was dropped twice and that proved costly, with Ashutosh’s 17-ball 31 helping them chase down 200 with three wickets and a ball to spare.
“I think collectively as a fielding unit we let ourselves down in some of the key moments,” Gill said on Wednesday.