In the first match of Gujarat Titans, the Hardik Pandya-led team beat the four-time Champions Gujarat Titans by 5 wickets. Even after a satisfying win, Gujarat Titans have got a major setback. The star New Zealand batter Kane Williamson who was part of Gujarat this season has been ruled out from the IPL 2023 due to an injury he got in the opening encounter against CSK.
The former Indian cricketer Sanjay Manjrekar has suggested that the Gujarat Titans team should consider adding Australian batsman Steve Smith to their IPL 2023 squad as a replacement for Kane Williamson.
Kane Williamson would have played an important role for Gujarat Titans at No. 3 and therefore the team will have to find a replacement quickly who can match the stature of Williamson.
Sanjay Manjrekar believes that Steve Smith’s style is well-suited to the No. 3 position that Williamson occupied and he could be a suitable replacement for the injured New Zealander in the Gujarat Titans squad for the rest of the IPL 2023 season.
Speaking to Star Sports, Sanjay Manjrekar said, “Steve Smith is the kind of player they want, somebody who can play all kinds of gears. Plus with the new rules which he finds very cool, I’d love to see Smith’s captaincy, we saw that and we were raving about it in the India-Australia series. And Hardik Pandya needs a bit of help, he confessed, ‘I have no idea what my tactics are, so I’m going to leave it to the others.’ So, that could be a great call actually.”
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Kane Williamson made his debut for the franchise but suffered an injury while attempting to save a six hit by Ruturaj. The New Zealand captain missed properly landing his foot and injured his knee, causing him to fall to the ground. Physiotherapists were called to attend to him and he was then taken off the field. Sai Sudarshan was later called for a replacement.
