IPL 2024 Auction: Will Gujarat Titans go BIG to find Hardik Pandya’s replacement?

The IPL 2024 Auction is less than a week away. The highly anticipated event which will take place at the Coca-Cola Arena in Dubai on Tuesday, December 19, will see 333 players go under the hammer.

However, with maximum 77 slots available, teams will strategically navigate their options to get the best players for the IPL 2024.

Among the teams that made big headlines during the IPL trade window was Gujarat Titans (GT). The 2022 IPL champions had to let go their star captain Hardik Pandya Sharma to Mumbai Indians.

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With Pandya’s departure, Gujarat Titans have a big gap to plug. Ahead of the IPL 2024 auction, we take a look at GT’s strategy for the auction and key players they will be targeting.

Hardik Pandya’s departure – A big loss but a golden opportunity

With Hardik Pandya at helm, Gujarat Titans dominated the IPL in their first two seasons, winning the title in debut season and finishing runners-up in following year.

While Gujarat have a gaping hole to fill, the silver lining would be the big purse they are left with to find Hardik’s replacement.

Gujarat Titans have INR 38.15 Crore left for the auction, the biggest among 10 franchises. The franchise have retained their core players and have a settled XI, despite the departure of their skipper. This will allow GT to break the bank to find an apt replacement for Hardik Pandya.

Retained Players

Shubman Gill (c), David Miller, Kane Williamson, Abhinav Manohar, B. Sai Sudharsan, Wriddhiman Saha, Matthew Wade, Rashid Khan, Rahul Tewatia, Vijay Shankar, Mohammed Shami, Darshan Nalkande, Jayant Yadav, R. Sai Kishore, Noor Ahmad, Joshua Little, Mohit Sharma.

Released Players

Pradeep Sangwan, Odean Smith, Alzarri Joseph, Dasun Shanaka, Yash Dayal, KS Bharat, Shivam Mavi, Urvil Patel.

Gujarat Titans Purse

INR 38.15 Crore

Slots Left

Total – 8

Overseas – 2

Gujarat Titans’ IPL 2024 Auction Strategy

The team has let go of several Indian bowlers, which indicates that the franchise will look for few domestic pacers in the auction.

The franchise will also look for a backup for wicketkeeper Wriddhiman Saha after releasing KS Bharat ahead of the auction.

Players Gujarat Titans could target in auction

With Hardik Pandya gone and few domestic bowling options released, GT will look to target young Indian pace talents from auction pool. Karthik Tyagi, Chetan Sakariya could be the ideal picks for the franchise.

The other Indian player that the GT might vye for in the auction could be all-rounder Shardul Thakur. While Thakur has had an on-off season in 2023, he has proved time and again that he can be a great asset with both bat and ball in crunch situations.

With just two overseas slots to fill, Gujarat has a chance (and money!) to go for New Zealand all-rounder Daryl Mitchell. The 32-year-old had a brilliant 2023 season which makes him an intriguing option for the GT franchise.

GT might also look for Saurashtra wicketkeeper-batter Harvik Desai as possible backup option for Wriddhiman Saha. Harvik had a brilliant stint in the 2023 Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy. The youngster scored 336 run at a strike rate of 175 and at an average of 67. However, the team is likely to face stiff competition from other teams as well.

Meanwhile, another player that GT might look as possible backup wicketkeeper could be Karnataka’s Luvnith Sisodia. The young wicketkeeper had a brilliant KSCA T20 tournament in August, scoring 263 runs in six innings at a strike rate of over 150.

Conclusion

Gujarat have most of their boxes ticked. A few good domestic additions will make Gujarat Titans ready for another title challenge in 2024.