Gujarat’s Performance in Indian T20 League

Gujarat’s Schedule for Indian T20 League 2023

Squad Analysis of Gujarat

After their dominating performance in the last season’s Indian T20 League, it’s difficult to find faults with the Gujarat squad. What more, players like Gill, Miller and even Pandya have further strengthened their games in the year that has ensued, which would mean that they will be a scary prospect for any opposition. Even Kane Williamson, who had a forgettable Indian T20 League last year with the bat has had a great year post the tournament and might have a point to prove to his ex-franchise who offloaded him after 8 years before the last auction. However, the challenge for the team would be to collectively do an encore of the previous year.

Strengths – The team looks a very strong unit on paper with all the bases covered as they have quality batters as well as very good all-rounders who can turn the match with their performances as they showed last year. Hardik Pandya being able to bowl four overs upfront has made it a very strong side with so many options in the bowling department in case someone endures an off-day. Not just that, but his captaincy brought out the best from a lot of players who hadn’t done so well for their previous franchises.

Weaknesses – The only thing that can torpedo Gujarat’s season is the weight of expectations from them. The tag of defending champions isn’t an easy one to carry. Moreover, one thing that will be interesting to see this season is how the team takes to the home and away format, something that they didn’t have to experience last year due to the tournament being held only in Maharashtra.

Gujarat Team in Indian T20 League 2023

The Gujarat team was formed only ahead of 2022 edition of the Indian T20 League and when the auction took place, not many thought that they would do what they were eventually able to pull off at the end of the season – lift the trophy in only their first attempt. Led by Hardik Pandya and coached by Gary Kirsten, the team won 10 out of their 14 group stage matches and didn’t flinch once on their path to victory, eventually defeating a spirited Rajasthan in the final of the season. The campaign was a great success for the team because everyone contributed to the team’s cause. The team had three batters with more than 400 runs in the season. Moreover, Hardik Pandya made a dream comeback with both the bat and ball for Gujarat, as a few months before that, he seemed to be out of reckoning for Team India. The successful campaign with Gujarat not only allowed him to make a comeback but also led to him being handed over the India T20I captaincy in the absence of regular skipper Rohit Sharma. Post the T20 World Cup semi-final exit, Pandya is believed to be the successor of Sharma for the captaincy position.

However, before he takes up the reins of the national side, Pandya will look to reprise his last year’s success with Gujarat. The team didn’t have much to change on the auction table but decided to pick Kane Williamson early in the day to bring in much needed experience to their batting lineup. They also got West Indian all-rounder Odean Smith on the day of the auction as well as Shivam Mavi. Ireland pacer Josh Little will also get a taste of the Indian T20 League after being picked by the Gujarat side for a hefty price in the auction. The team, however, will miss out on the pace of Lockie Ferguson who they traded with Kolkata before the auctions and will look up to Alzarri Joseph to fill the big boots of the Kiwi. The team will miss the services of David Miller who was terrific with the bat last season in the first match of the tournament as the South African will be busy playing for the national side against Netherlands.