IPL Auction 2022, Gujarat Titans analysis: Incredible at times but injudicious on occasions too

The Gujarat Titans, along with the Lucknow Super Giants, were earmarked to become a part of the Indian Premier League towards the end of 2021. However, a few discrepancies in the paperwork meant that the Titans couldn’t really begin planning for the IPL. So, when they were finally given the go ahead, the franchise, firstly, breathed a sigh of relief. The competition that they longed to be a part of was now at their doorstep, and was waiting for them to seize it. To that end, their acquisition of Hardik Pandya, Rashid Khan and Shubman Gill was perfect. Not only did the trio bring different qualities to the fore, each has the potential to be long-term options for the Titans. In the aforementioned troika, they had a magnificent core assembled and they only needed to add a handful of impactful players to make a meaningful splash. At the start of day one, they were very impressive. They snapped up Jason Roy for his base price, went the distance for Lockie Ferguson and managed to bring Mohammed Shami on board too. And then, things started creaking a little. They were priced out of a couple of deals, a few of their primary targets were sold to other teams and they were left feeding on scraps – at quite a frenetic pace too. During that phase, there were a few injudicious signings – signings that didn’t just eat into their purse considerably but also meant they couldn’t use that money elsewhere. For example, they could have cooled off on bidding for Rahul Tewatia and utilized that cash to seek a frontline Indian middle order batter. They also forgot to add a wicket-keeper to their squad till the penultimate round of the accelerated auction. That thirst was only quenched when they procured Wriddhiman Saha’s services. They quickly followed it up with Matthew Wade’s acquisition, hinting that the Titans might just have felt the pinch. In a nutshell, this was the sort of auction that told the rest of the IPL that the Gujarat Titans could hold their own in these confines, while also admitting sheepishly that they aren’t quite the finished product yet. Their squad has also been built on similar lines and while it might not jump out as a title-worthy squad, it has just enough ability to keep most teams in the IPL honest. Gujarat Titans squad Foreign batters: David Miller and Jason Roy Indian batters: Abhinav Manohar Sadarangani and Shubman Gill Foreign wicket-keeper: Matthew Wade Indian wicket-keeper: Wriddhiman Saha Foreign all-rounder: Dominic Drakes Indian all-rounders: Darshan Nalkande, Gurkeerat Singh Mann, Hardik Pandya, Jayant Yadav, Rahul Tewatia, Sai Sudharsan, Vijay Shankar Foreign spinners: Noor Ahmad and Rashid Khan Indian spinner: R Sai Kishore Foreign fast bowlers: Alzarri Joseph and Lockie Ferguson Indian fast bowlers: Mohammed Shami, Pradeep Sangwan, Varun Aaron and Yash Dayal Strong area: The Gujarat Titans have several genuine match-winners in their ranks. Roy and Hardik can single-handedly win games with the willow, whereas Ferguson and Rashid are capable of inflicting severe damage with the ball. There is a lot of variety in their bowling attack too and that should allow them to pick and choose their resources, based on the conditions and the opposition. Area of concern: There are too many all-rounders in the team. As things stand, Gill, Roy and Saha are the only batters capable of batting in the top three. The Titans could gamble with Vijay Shankar but it remains to be seen how he acclimatises to his new surroundings. There could be a situation where the Titans excel at the outset (courtesy of Roy) and towards the end. But teams that lose their way in the middle overs (especially with the bat) rarely cause a consistent flutter in the IPL. Oh, and if Shami were to get injured or if any of the overseas fast bowlers were to break down, they could find themselves in a bit of bother. Best buy: Jason Roy (INR 2 crore) Worst buy: Rahul Tewatia (INR 9 crore) Click here to read the analysis of the rest of the teams