The champions from the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2022 season, Gujarat Titans made some intelligent buys in the auction on Friday. The Hardik Pandya-led side splashed cash on the likes of Shivam Mavi (Rs 6 crore), KS Bharat (Rs 1.2 crore) while also roping in New Zelaand captain Kane Williamson (Rs 2 crore) in a steal deal. The Gujarat Titans, with a sharp coach in Ashish Nehra, made some clever choices at the auction. While eyes might pop out at Mavi's Rs 6 crore deal, there aren't many effective Indian T20 bowlers on that roster and Mavi had to go for a bit of price.
The two steal buys are keeper Kona Bharat, who got wasted in Delhi Capitals last season as Rishabh Pant's understudy and here there is every chance that he might open alongside Shubman Gill in place of 38-year-old Wriddhiman Saha.
Kane Williamson may not be an automatic playing XI choice but on tricky surfaces, he could be brought in as stabilising influence.
Gujarat Titans Full Squad:
Players Bought In IPL 2023 Auction: Mohit Sharma (INR 50 lakh), Joshua Little (INR 4.4 crore), Urvil Patel (INR 20 lakh), Shivam Mavi (INR 6 crore), KS Bharat (INR 1.2 crore), Odean Smith (INR 50 lakh), Kane Williamson (INR 2 crore)
Players Retained: 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.
With PTI inputs