(Cricket news) The 15th edition of the IPL is going to be bigger than ever with a new format and two new teams. One of the new teams is Gujarat Titans which will be coached by Gary Kirsten and Ashish Nehra. In the draft picks, Titans got Shubman Gill, Rashid Khan and Hardik Pandya as their 3 players. They announced Pandya who they paid 15 crores for as their captain.
There were other options to pick as their captains including Shreyas Iyer and David Warner. Pandya is absolutely worth 15 crores as a player for everything he has done with the Mumbai Indians and the Indian side despite his downfall in the past year. The big question is will he be a capable captain. Leading a new franchise in itself is a very big challenge that added to the fact that the all-rounder has never been a captain before could massively backfire. To make matters worse, Gujarat Titans had a very mediocre auction unlike their fellow newcomers Lucknow SuperGiants.
On a personal level Pandya will be hoping to be fully fit to bowl at the speed that he used to. His batting form is something that will surely follow. Gary Kirsten is one of the best coaches in the world and will help Pandya rediscover his form. The big hitter will be hoping to lead his side well and ultimately make it to the T20 World Cup squad for India. He will have a lot of pressure on him because of the prize tag and the fact that this is his first captaincy venture.
As a skipper, Pandya has a lot of young players who haven't yet burst onto the scene and he will have to play a role in developing them. At the same time there are a few senior internationals who need to be managed well. His latest problem is that Jason Roy, who the Titans purchased in the auction, has pulled out from the tournament due to bio bubble fatigue. Gujarat needs to find a replacement soon with Martin Guptill and Aaron Finch available.
Gujarat Titans squad:
Hardik Pandya, Rashid Khan, Shubman Gill, Mohammed Shami, Lockie Ferguson, Abhinav Sadarangani, Rahul Tewatia, Noor Ahmad, R Sai Kishore, Dominic Drakes, Jayant Yadav, Vijay Shankar, Darshan Nalkande, Yash Dayal, Alzarri Joseph, Pradeep Sangwan, David Miller, Wriddhiman Saha, Matthew Wade, Gurkeerat Singh, Varun Aaron, B Sai Sudharshan.
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