Gujarat Titans (GT) IPL Team: Owner, New Captain and 2024 Squad

The love for cricket in India is unrivaled. Millions of kids practice every day to fulfill their dream of eventually fulfill their dreams of playing for their country at the highest level. The opportunities and the chances are very few, slimmer than 0.01%. Of all the opportunities, the Indian Premier League is the biggest and the most prestigious. The Motto of the IPL is "Yatra Pratibha Avsara Prapnotihi" meaning, where talent meets opportunity and is the biggest stage for any youngster to showcase their class in front of everyone. And playing in the IPL is like the highest level of experience for the young domestic talents in India. And for that major reason, the BCCI decided to add two more teams from the IPL 2022 season, the Gujarat Titans (GT) and Lucknow Supergiants (LSG).

Both teams had a blistering start to their campaigns, but GT blew everyone off, to achieve what was seemingly impossible to do. They built a team around youngsters, resonating exactly what the IPL stands for, and accomplished the extraordinary feat of winning the IPL trophy in their debut season, proving that raw talent and youth can triumph on the grandest stage of Indian cricket.

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In this article by ZAP, let's dive deep and learn more about the Gujarat Titans IPL team, the history, and the players, and decode their secret of success.

The Gujarat Titans Owner and History:

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In August 2021, the BCCI in pursuit of expansion of the IPL into a bigger and grander league that supports the development of domestic talent and is the ultimate destination for entertainment invited bids for two new IPL teams, of which one would be from Gujarat and the other from Uttar Pradesh. This sparked interest from 22 companies. However, only six serious bidders emerged due to the high base price. In October 2021, at the official bidding of the new franchises, CVC Capital Partners, a Luxembourgish Financial Holdings Company secured the rights to operate the Ahmedabad franchise with a whopping bid of ₹5,625 crore (US$700 million). They outbid Gautam Adani’s Adani group to bag the Gujarat-based franchise and officially named the franchise Gujarat Titans just before the start of the 2022 IPL Season. The owners of the Gujarat Titans Team, CVC Capital Partners wasted no time and appointed the local boy, Hardik Pandya, as the captain of the team, starting a journey that would see them lift the trophy in their debut season itself.

Gujarat Titans IPL Journey:

Gujarat Titans were considered underdogs in their first IPL season due to auction strategies focused on getting young players instead of big superstars but then surprised everyone with a stellar performance. Their first game was against Lucknow Supergiants, the other new team of the IPL in which GT triumphed. After stellar performances from youngsters and proper guidance from the captain Hardik Pandya and head coach Ashish Nehra, GT finished at the top of the points table. They faced Rajasthan Royals in the first qualifiers, they reached the Finals at the Narendra Modi Cricket Stadium, which is also their home ground. GT once again faced Rajasthan Royal, this time in the final, and showed exceptional teamwork on the grandest stage of the competition in 2022. Bowling first, they restricted Rajasthan to 130, stopping Jos Buttler, who had been in superb form all tournament. They chased down the target with 11 balls to spare, sealing the victory with a six from Shubman Gill. Hardik Pandya's all-around excellence, 3/17 with the ball and 34 off 30 balls with the bat earned him the Man of the Match in the final.

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In the 2023 season too, the story repeated with GT dominating the points table in the league stage. They faced MS Dhoni’s Chennai Super Kings in the final which was affected by rain and shortened by the DLS Rules. The final turned out to be a very close one, and only Ravindra Jadeja’s final over heroics could win it for CSK. GT finished second but continued with their promise of youth development and building the team around young talents. 

Gujarat Titans IPL Trophy and Their Success Formula:

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The Gujarat Titans 2022 IPL Team burst into the tournament and snatched the trophy right away. Their secret?  A mix of power-packed performances from both the young domestic players like Abhinav Manohar, and Rahul Tewatia and international superstars like Rashid Khan and David Miller. Rashid Khan's spin bowling mastery castled the finest batting lineups while David Miller's, Rahul Tewatia, and Abhinav Manohar's power hitting helped GT to big scores or chase down any targets in the death overs. Up top, it was Shubman Gill's and Wriddhiman Saha's explosive starts in the powerplay that helped GT set the tone for the batting lineup. And with the new leather ball or in the death, it was Mohammad Shami's swing bowling brilliance that helped the Titans stop the opposition teams to a low score. On top of all the cricketing ability, The Titans kept their heads cool even in tense situations, proving that staying calm can win you matches.

Gujarat Titans Home Ground – The Narendra Modi Cricket Stadium:

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The Gujarat Titans play their home matches at the Narendra Modi Cricket Stadium in Ahmedabad, renowned as the world's largest cricket ground. Following the relaxation of Covid protocols in 2022, the IPL returned to hosting matches in India, culminating in the final held at the Motera Stadium. So, the first match that the Titans played at their home ground, they emerged victorious, how poetic is that. But, in the further matches that they played in 2023, they haven’t been very dominant at their home ground. In 9 home games, the have won 5 and lost 4. 

Gujarat Titans IPL Team and Squad:

In the recent IPL auction, the Titans’ main focus was to strengthen their team for being the the challengers for the title once again. They spent 10 crore on the Australian left arm pacer Spencer Johnson and replaced Yash Dayal, who left for Royal Challengers Bangalore. They also bought Azmatullah Omarzai, an Afghanistan pace-bowling all-round player, presumably to take Pandya's spot. In order to further strengthen their robust batting lineup, the Ahmedabad-based team also paid Rs. 7.40 crore to obtain the services of middle-order batsman Shahrukh Khan. The promising Indian pacer Kartik Tyagi, who cost just Rs. 60 lakh, and the seasoned Umesh Yadav, who cost Rs. 5.80 crore, strengthen the team's speed unit. The team now looks extremely well balanced with the right touch of experience from overseas players and youth from the domestic uncapped batsmen. The depth that they have in batting and bowling is unreal and they have picked one of the best squads in the tournament.

Gujarat Titans 2024 IPL Squad:

Batsmen: Shubman Gill ©, David Miller (SA), Abhinav Manohar, Kane Williamson (NZ), Sai Sudharsan.

Wicketkeepers: Mathew Wade (AUS), Wriddiman Saha, Robin Minz.

All-rounders: Rashid Khan (AFG), Rahul Tewatia, Jayant Yadav, Vijay Shankar, Azmatullah Omarzai (AFG), Darshan Nalkande, Shahrukh Khan.

Bowlers: Mohammed Shami, Umesh Yadav, Josh Little (IRE), R. Sai Kishore, Mohit Sharma, Noor Ahmad (AFG), Sushant Mishra, Kartik Tyagi, Manav Suthar, Spencer Johnson (AUS).

Gujarat Titans Predicted Playing 11:

Shubman Gill (c), Sai Sudharsan, Kane Williamson, Vijay Shankar, David Miller, Robin Minz (WK), Shahrukh Khan, Rashid Khan, Noor Ahmad/Spencer Johnson, Mohammed Shami, Umesh Yadav.

Gujarat Titans Captain:

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Hardik Pandya was a very young captain and had no prior experience leading any other team. But he played under the leadership of Rohit Sharma in Mumbai Indians, one of the best and most tactically astute captains. Also, he brought in a tonne of experience of how a champion team plays and with the support of the support staff which included experience from the Gujarat Titans Head Coach, Ashish Nehra, and Gary Kirsten (the man who also won the World Cup as Indian Cricket Team’s Coach), built a team that worked together as a solid unit to lift the trophy in the very first season. As a captain, Hardik Pandya has one of the best records, winning 22 matches out of the 31 played with a win rate of 70.96%. Now, keeping his captaincy aside, he was a player who could change matches on his own with his batting, bowling, and fielding skills. Usually, a lower middle order batsman who bats at the death and is known for his power hitting, he promoted himself to bat up the order on multiple occasions, which worked wonders for him and the team. He also provided 4 overs of quality fast bowling, truly being one of the best all-rounders in both the 2022 and 2023 seasons. 

Why did Hardik Pandya leave Gujarat Titans?

Hardik Pandya’s term with GT ended when Mumbai Indians, his older team approached him to explore the possibility of getting him back to the Wankhede Stadium. MI proposed an eye-watering opportunity that he’ll be the new captain of the MI team over Rohit Sharma, which was very tempting for him and he ultimately chose to leave for his previous home. It was a homecoming for Hardik and he was traded from Gujarat Titans to Mumbai Indians for a massive 15 crore fee to GT. Fans from both sides weren’t happy with this decision. GT fans called Hardik a traitor while MI fans weren’t happy with the fact that Rohit wouldn’t be the captain of their team anymore. But, this is not the strangest thing that has happened on a cricketing field, so we should all move ahead with the decisions of the players and continue supporting our favorite teams.

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As for the next season, Shubman Gill is the new captain of the Gujarat Titans IPL Team, so let’s see how the Prince of Indian Cricket will do as the captain in the next IPL season. 

Conclusion:

The Gujarat Titans IPL Team is without a doubt one of the best teams in the tournament with a well-balanced squad. It is the season where Shubman GiIl gets to lead the team, in a similar way Virat Kohli took charge of the Royal Challengers Bangalore at a very young age. He has experience that Kane Williamson brings in to help him manage tough situations well. If he does the job well, then with the quality of players that GT has, there sure is a chance that we see them lifting the IPL trophy once again.

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