(Cricket news) Gujarat Titans in their maiden IPL season became champions last year. Hardik Pandya emerged as an incredible captain who has since captained India multiple times in T20 internationals. This season they will have to manage the expectations. They haven’t made any big changes but they have brought in a couple of good players. Gujarat Titans are yet to encounter with any injuries but David Miller will be unavailable for the first few matches due to international duty which will be a big miss. 

Gujarat Titans ideal playing XI:

Openers: Shubman Gill & Wriddhiman Saha

Shubman Gill has shown massive growth in the past year or so. He had a good season last year with Gujarat Titans but this year he will be keen to get even better. Wriddhiman Saha also played well towards the backend of last season and the same will be expected from him. There are other keeping options but Saha fits perfectly as an opening wucket keeper.

Middle order: Sai Sudarshan & David Miller

David Miller isn’t available for the first few games so Kane Williamson or Matthew Wade are likely to come in for him. Miller plays a very important role in the side due to his big hitting ability. Sai Sudarshan had a decent last season but he has the potential to do more which is what his target for this campaign will be.

All-rounders Hardik Pandya, Rahul Tewatia & Odean Smith

Gujarat Titans skipper Hardik Pandya will be crucial with both bat and ball. His newly developed skill to swing the new ball will be very lethal. Rahul Tewatia with his ability to finish games and his wrist spin is one of the first names on the team sheet. Odean Smith had a very underwhelming campaign with PBKS last season and he will be keen to do better this time around for the Gujarat Titans 

Spinner: Rashid Khan

Rashid Khan will be the leader of the Gujarat Titans bowling attack. His batting has also improved a lot which makes him even more valuable. The wrist spinner will have to bowl in all parts of the game which is his speciality.

Seamers: Alzari Joseph, Mohammed Shami & Yash Dayal

Shami is the most experienced played in this side and that will be valuable. He also had a very good last season and the same will be expected from him. Yash Dayal broke through last season with his impressive bowling. This season he will be looking to go a level up. Alzari Joseph is coming into the tournament in really good form and he is likely to take up a foreign player spot. Leaving out Shivam Mavi is a difficult decision but it will be difficult to fit him into this team.

Bench: Abhinav Manohar, Matthew Wade, Vijay Shankar, Pradeep Sangwan, Darshan Nalkande, Jayant Yadav, R Sai Kishore, Noor Ahmad, Kane Williamson, KS Bharat, Shivam Mavi, Urvil Patel, Joshua Little, Mohit Sharma.

Also read: Chennai Super Kings ideal playing XI for IPL 2023