IPL 2022: 4 Mistakes Made by Gujarat Titans in The Auction
IPL 2022: IPL’s new franchise Gujarat Titans made a few mistakes in their first auction of the IPL. The recently concluded IPL mega auctions were the first for the Gujarat Titans, one of the two newly inducted franchises in the IPL. Every team was allowed a purse amount limit of INR 90 cr to buy players for their squad. Each franchise was allowed to retain up to 4 players. Here are today’s IPL Match prediction and news updates.
Moreover, the newly inducted franchises – Gujarat Titans and Lucknow Super Giants – were allowed to buy three players as their draft picks ahead of the auction. Gujarat Titans had bought Hardik Pandya (INR 15 cr), Rashid Khan (INR 15 cr), and Shubman Gill (INR 8 cr) ahead of the auction. The franchise further bought 20 more players from their remaining purse amount in the mega auction, including 8 overseas players.
A team’s success in the tournament depends on its balance and depth. Mere spending large amounts on players don’t guarantee the team’s success in the IPL. Most successful teams like Mumbai Indians and Chennai SuperKings don’t get swayed by big names and bid intelligently at auctions.
They first finalize their core group and then create backup options for important players to strengthen their squad. Gujarat Titans, however, made a few mistakes in picking players in the auction. Here they are:
IPL 2022: Three mistakes made by Gujarat Titans at auction
1) Very few experienced Indian players
Out of 15 Indian players in the Gujarat Titans squad, only a handful have substantial experience of playing international cricket. Although 8 players from the squad have represented India at the senior level, only Hardik Pandya and Mohammad Shami have substantial experience of playing at the international level. Shubhman Gill has had an impact in the limited-overs format but is still new.
Wriddhiman Saha has played only 9 ODIs for India and also doesn’t fit in the shorter format that well. Players like Vijay Shankar, Gurkeerat Singh, and Varun Aaron have played very few matches for India and don’t have impressive IPL records either. In this case, the shoulders of Captain Hardik Pandya and Mohammad Shami will have to bear most of the burden of the team.
Also, not much can be put on overseas players as there can be a maximum of 4 of them in the team. Therefore, it becomes pertinent to have dependable and experienced Indian players. Teams having better Indian players in their squad manifest balance and the right combination better than any other team.
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2) No Back-up Opener
Shubman Gill was very impressive during his stint at Kolkata Knight Riders. Though he is not a very aggressive batsman, he has provided steady starts to the Kolkata Knight Riders. Shubman was a draft pick by Gujarat Titans ahead of the auction.
Gujarat Titans later roped in England opener Jason Roy at the auction. It is obvious that both Jason Roy and Shubman Gill will open the batting for the Titans. However, the Titans don’t have a backup option. No one else to open the innings in case either of them goes out of form or gets injured.
3) Third wicket-keeper missing
The Titans have picked Wriddhiman Saha and Matthew Wade as their wicket-weepers. Matthew Wade last played in the IPL in 2011 and Wriddhiman Saha is not very prolific in run-scoring. Both are exceptionally well behind wickets with the gloves, however, Wade will be the preferred choice considering his abilities. Wade was exceptional in Australia’s recent T20 World Cup triumph, especially in the semi-final match against Pakistan.
However, the team is missing its third wicket-keeping option. Indian wicket-keepers like Rishabh Pant, Ishan Kishan and Dinesh Karthik are in high demand as they provide unmatchable utility in the T20 format. They have a safe pair of hands behind the wickets and can also bat ferociously.
Unlike Saha. It is difficult to rope in such quality wicket-keepers when other franchises are ready to fight relentless bidding wars for them. However, the Titans should have gone for an uncapped Indian wicket-keeper more.
4) Less specialists and more All-rounders
The Titans have mostly picked all-rounders in their team. Hardik Pandya, Vijay Shankar, Gurkeerat Singh, Rahul Tewatia, and Dominic Drake are the only few names from the long list of all-rounders. The franchise has picked very few specialist players and has put their faith in all-rounders.
The team could have picked two genuine middle-order batsmen, capped or uncapped, in place of two all-rounders. If we look at the possible XI of Gujarat Titans, there is no genuine batsman for the number three spot in the team. However, Hardik Pandya can play that role as he is still recovering from his injuries and may purely play as a batsman. Get here the latest Online Betting Apps for IOS and Android.
