Gujarat Titans

The bookmakers are less convinced of their chances this time around, however, with captain Hardik Pandya having to make do without the released Lockie Ferguson and Varun Aaron. 

But Pandya himself remains one of the most explosive talents in world cricket, and he won’t be shy of support from the likes of Mohammed Shami, Rashid Khan, Shubman Gill and David Miller. 

Only one team has successfully defended their IPL title in the past decade, so can the Titans upset the odds?

Latest Gujarat Titans News

Standout Gujarat Titans Players

Gujarat Titans Captain – Hardik Pandya

After winning four IPL titles with the Mumbai Indians, Hardik Pandya was persuaded to step out of Rohit Sharma’s shadow and take on the captaincy at the newly formed Gujarat Titans franchise in 2022.

He must surely be glad that he did. The all-rounder showed a natural flair for leadership, guiding a solid roster lacking in many star names to the IPL title in their inaugural season – only the second team to achieve the feat in the competition’s history.

The Gujarat Titans captain has been retained for 2023, unsurprisingly, with ₹15 crore paid for the services of the 29-year-old. 

Best Bowler – Rashid Khan

The Gujarat Titans team will be without Kiwi fast bowler Ferguson and Varun Aaron in 2023 after they were released from their contracts.

However, Pandya still has plenty of quality at his disposal. Indian international Mohammed Shami will lead the pace attack, and he will be backed by West Indian Alzarri Joseph, Yash Dayal and the exciting Shivam Mavi. Also, look out for Irish signing Josh Little – he took a hat-trick against New Zealand at the T20 World Cup last year.

Rashid Khan took 19 wickets in IPL 2022, and the spinner will be tasked with being the Titans’ ‘danger man’ once more this term. Don’t forget Pandya himself, who remains an excellent, economic bowler– he won the Man of the Match trophy in last year’s IPL final thanks to his exploits with ball in hand.

Best Batsman – Hardik Pandya

The team have one of the most destructive batting line-ups in the competition, with three Gujarat Titans players – Pandya, Shubman Gill and David Miller – ranking inside the top 10 for most runs scored in IPL 2022. All three players hit over 480 runs in 2022, with Pandya leading the way on 487. 

The likes of Khan and Rahul Tewatia are also capable of match-winning performances with the bat, while a new signing for the 2023 season – Kane Williamson – requires no introduction to cricket fans around the world.

Best Player – Hardik Pandya

The beauty of this Gujarat Titans team is that they are stacked with players who can change the course of a game dramatically and quickly. 

Pandya, Miller, Gill, Khan, Tewatia and Shami are exciting players to watch for the Titans and are so explosive that they should never be considered out of the game even when times are tough.

At IPL 2022, captain Pandya finished second in the MVP rankings, while Shami (seventh), Khan (eighth), Gill (36^th), and Miller (41^st) highlight the depth of the Titans’ roster.

What’s most exciting for Titans supporters is that many of these players are proven T20 performers around the world at the highest level, so their efforts in 2022 were far from a flash in the pan.

Gujarat Titans Owner – CVC Capital Partners

When the Governing Council of the IPL expanded the competition to welcome a franchise from Ahmedabad, they had six major companies vying to become the Gujarat Titans owner. 

In the end, the highest bid came from CVC Capital Partners – a European company that invests its significant private equity fund into projects that it believes will be profitable for its members. 

CVC Capital Partners paid around ₹5,625 crore to become the Gujarat Titans owner and having won the title in their debut season, the owners will surely be pleased with their investment so far.

Win-Loss Record and IPL Titles

12/4/0 since 2022, with one IPL title

One season, one IPL title – that’s perfection from the Gujarat Titans!

This Gujarat Titans team took to the Indian Premier League from the get-go, winning 10 of their 14 league-phase games to top the standings in 2022.

This saw them advance straight through to Qualifier 1, where they chased down the Rajasthan Royals’ imposing target of 188 with three balls to spare.

The Titans would renew their rivalry with the Royals in the final, which was a decidedly lower-scoring encounter. Having restricted their opponents to just 130/9, the Titans won with some 11 balls to spare – the winning runs blasted into the stands by Shubman Gill.

Highest Score – 199/5 vs Sunrisers Hyderabad

With only one IPL season under their belt, the Gujarat Titans have had fewer opportunities to post big scores.

But even so, in their solitary campaign, they managed to score in excess of 190 on four different occasions, with 199/5 against Sunrisers Hyderabad their highest innings tally.

No Gujarat Titans player was able to make a century, but Shubman Gill made an outstanding score of 96 against the Punjab Kings.