The defending champions Gujarat Titans will face Chennai Super Kings in the opening encounter of IPL 2023. The team led by Hardik Pandya has a set of experienced and young talented players and after a heroic season last year, it would be interesting to see how the team approaches this year. The owner of Gujarat Titans is CVC Capital Partners, a British private equity and investment advisory firm, that purchased the franchise for a whopping bid of INR 5625 crore in October 2021
Gujarat Titans’ Performance Last Year
Gujarat Titans were newly introduced last year and they lifted the trophy in the first attempt. There were too many heroes for the team, but David Miller, Shubman Gill, and captain Hardik Pandya were the best ones. In the final, they defeated Rajasthan Royals at Narendra Modi Stadium.
Strength Of Gujarat Titans:
The team that won the 2022 IPL championship appears to be very strong overall and doesn’t seem to have any significant weaknesses. Hardik Pandya, who is a charismatic leader leads the team and they have talented players in batting, bowling, and fielding.
At the start of the tournament, the batting order of the GT team didn’t seem as impressive as some of the other teams in the tournament. They often relied on their finishers, namely Rahul Tewatia, David Miller, and Rashid Khan. However, the addition of Kane Williamson and K.S. Bharat will add more stability to the team.
Gujarat Titans already had a strong bowling attack with players like Mohammed Shami, Alzarri Joseph, Yash Dayal, and Rashid Khan. They further strengthened their bowling lineup by acquiring Mohit Sharma, Joshua Little, and Shivam Mavi.
Weakness Of Gujarat Titans:
The middle-order of the Gujarat Titans looked a bit weak last year, but now the presence of Kane Williamson will sort it out for them. The team management will have a headache to use the young players smartly and it is not going to be an easy task for the captain Hardik Pandya.
Ex-Factor of Gujarat Titans:
Gujarat Titans do not have one but more trump cards in their arsenal. Captain Hardik Pandya is in great touch and could be dangerous with both bat and bowl. Rashid Khan is always seen as a game changer and in this tournament, he will enter with the same intention. Kane Williamson is one of those overseas players who does not face any difficulty playing on Indian pitches and he could single-handedly win the matches for GT.
IPL 2023: Chennai Super Kings Strength, Weakness, X-factors, And Full Squad
Gujarat Titans Final Squad:
Hardik Pandya (C), Shubman Gill, David Miller, Abhinav Manohar, Sai Sudharsan, Wriddhiman Saha, Matthew Wade, Rashid Khan, Rahul Tewatia, Vijay Shankar, Mohammed Shami, Alzarri Joseph, Yash Dayal, Pradeep Sangwan, Darshan Nalkande, Jayant Yadav, R Sai Kishore, Noor Ahmad, Kane Williamson, Odean Smith, KS Bharat, Shivam Mavi, Urvil Patel, Joshua Little, Mohit Sharma
Gujarat Titans IPL 2023 Schedule:
Match 1: 31 March- GT vs CSK – Ahmedabad
Match 2: 4 April- DC vs GT – Delhi
Match 3: 9 April- GT vs KKR – Ahmedabad
Match 4: 13 April- PBKS vs GT – Mohali
Match 5: 16 April- GT vs RR – Ahmedabad
Match 6: 22 April- LSG vs GT – Lucknow
Match 7: 25 April- GT vs MI – Ahmedabad
Match 8: 29 April- KKR vs GT – Kolkata
Match 9: 2 May- GT vs DC – Ahmedabad
Match 10: 5 May- RR vs GT – Jaipur
Match 11: 7 May- GT vs LSG – Ahmedabad
Match 12: 12 May- MI vs GT – Mumbai
Match 13: 15 May- GT vs SRH – Ahmedabad
Match 14: 21 May- RCB vs GT – Bengaluru