Gujarat Titans

The state of Gujarat finally had its wishes of harbouring an IPL team fulfilled in 2021 when CVC Capitals bought an Ahemdabad-based franchise for a whopping INR 5,625 crore,  making Gujarat Titans cricket ltd the second most expensive team in IPL history. The newly-built Narendra Modi Stadium was assigned as the franchise’s home ground in Motera, ensuring a solid foundation for the tournament’s newest entity. Despite a seemingly absurd auction strategy and an apparent lack of firepower at the season’s start, Gujarat Titans cricket ltd proved everyone wrong in their debut season and made history by emerging as the champions. Now with further reinforcements in the 2023 auction such as Kane Williamson, Odean Smith and Shivam Mavi, Gujarat Titans look like legitimate challengers for the title once again.

Gujarat Titans is a tean presenting the Gujarat state on IPL 2023.

Gujarat Titans – Team Profile

Team nameGujarat Titans
NicknameTitans, GT
Founded in Year2021
Home GroundNarendra Modi Stadium
Team OwnersCVC Capitals
CaptainHardik Pandya
Vice-captainRashid Khan
Head CoachAsish Nehra
Rent PlayersNA
Brand AmbassadorAditya Datta
JerseyDark Blue with white highlights
Theme SongAava De
Fan-made SongNA
Major RivalsLucknow Super Giants, Rajasthan Royals
LogoGold-border kite filled with dark blue colour, with Gujarat Titans written in bold 3-D font in the middle alongwith a white lightning bolt

Gujarat Titans History

The Gujarat Titans cricket ltd quickly became a fan favourite in the city of Ahmedabad having a rich cricketing culture, owing to the 14-year void it filled of the lack of an IPL team in the state even as neighbouring Rajasthan Royals and Mumbai Indians etched history one season after another. The franchise already had state-of-the-art facilities available in the form of the biggest cricket stadium in the world and a bold look alongside a handsome jersey further drew fans towards the team. Acquiring Hardik Pandya as the skipper alongside fan favourites Rashid Khan and Shubman Gill was the final step in establishing a true and loyal fanbase ready to dedicate themselves to the team’s cause from 2022 onwards. 

However, the side did not stop there. It first acquired Ashish Nehra, widely regarded as the funniest Indian cricketer around, as their head coach before securing the services of Gary Kirsten as a trainer – the same man that led India to the World Cup in 2011. The outpouring of love was visible almost instantaneously on GT Twitter and it increased exponentially post the IPL auction where the side recruited the likes of Lockie Ferguson, Mohammed Shami and David Miller.

Nevertheless, despite the star names in the squad, critics were wary of the balance of the side and eliminated them from contention before the tournament even began. Undeterred, the Gujarat Titans players started off with three wins on the trot, including an opening night triumph against the much-more fancied fellow debutantes Lucknow Super Giants. Eventually, IPL Gujarat Giants won 10 of its 14 group-stage games to top the table.

Through these games, the side enjoyed several history-making moments, be it bowling out LSG for a shambolic 82 or Rahul Tewatia’s two sixes against the Punjab Kings to chase down 12 off the last two deliveries. A Rashid Khan blitzkrieg also made quite the headlines as the all-rounder led the side to a famous win against four-time champions Chennai Super Kings.

Facing Rajasthan Royals in the qualifier, David Miller hit a hat-trick of sixes to chase down 16 int he final over thus securing his side a berth in the final. Asked to bowl first against the same opposition in the summit clash, the IPL Gujarat Titans fought all odds to restrict the Royals to a paltry 130 before cruising to the target with nearly two overs to spare. Thus, the Gujarat Titans team became the first to win the championship in their debut season since their fellow finalists had pulled it off in 2008.

At the IPL auction for the new session, Gujarat Titans cricket made only a few improvements to the GT squad 2023 such as acquiring Kiwi skipper Kane Williamson for INR 2 crores and contracting Shivam Mavi for INR 6 crore. The side also let go off Lockie Ferguson, the bowler with the second-quickest delivery in IPL history at 157.3 kph, as well as emerging Afghanistan wicket-keeper Rahmanullah Gurbaz.

Gujarat Titans is a young team and new to the IPL.

Gujarat Titans Players List 2023

PlayerAgeNationalityRole
Abhinav Manohar28IndiaBatsman
David Miller33South AfricaBatsman
Kane Williamson29New ZealandBatsman
Sai Sudharsan21IndiaBatsman
Shubman Gill23IndiaBatsman
Urvil Patel24India Batsman
Alzarri Joseph25West IndiesBowler
Darshan Nalkande24IndiaBowler
Jayant Yadav32IndiaBowler
Josh Little23IrelandBowler
Mohammed Shami32IndiaBowler
Mohit Sharma34EnglandBowler
Noor Ahmad17AfghanistanBowler
Odean Smith26West IndiesBowler
Pradeep Sangwan32IndiaBowler
Rashid Khan24AfghanistanBowler
Shivam Mavi23IndiaBowler
Yash Dayal24IndiaBowler
Hardik Pandya (C)29IndiaAll-Rounder
Rahul Tewatia29IndiaAll-Rounder
Sai Kishore26IndiaAll-Rounder
Vijay Shankar31IndiaAll-Rounder
Matthew Wade28AustraliaWicket Keeper
Srikar Bharat29IndiaWicket Keeper
Wriddhiman Saha34IndiaWicket Keeper

Administration and Support Staff

CEO: Arvinder Singh

Director of Cricket: Vikram Solanki

Head Coach: Ashish Nehra

Mentor: Gary Kirsten

Assistant Coach: Abdul Naim

Bowling Coach: Aashish Kapoor

Assistant Bowling Coach: Mithun Manhas

Batting Coach: Gary Kirsten

Physiotherapist: Rohit Sawalkar

Strength and Conditioning Coach: Rajinikanth Sivagnanam

Performance Analyst: Sandeep Raju

Brand Ambassador and Mentor: Aditya Datta

Development and Performance Director: Vikram Solanki

Team Manager: Satyajit Parab

These people help the team to play and win.

GT Fan Base

The Gujarat Titans cricket fanbase has grown leaps and bounds since their formation, title success in their debut season playing a huge role in boosting their popularity. Already having trendy characters in their dressing room that often make headlines and have a tremendous presence on social media such as Hardik Pandya and Rashid Khan, IPL Gujarat Titans have managed to form a highly competitive GT Twitter team that has aided them in their mission of becoming the country’s most loved cricket outfit.

The franchise already has 1.8 million followers on Instagram and 611K on Facebook, the latter being more than double of fellow debutantes Lucknow Super Giants. Meanwhile, GT Twitter has 414K followers as well, taking their cumulative social media following to nearly 3 million.

The Gujarat Titans team has great socila media and a lot of followers.

GT Sponsors

The main shirt sponsors of Gujarat Titans cricket are Ather Energy while the space on the chest is dedicated to advertising Capri Loans, right next to the team logo. Other associate and kit sponsors of the franchise include Jio, BKT, Dream11 and Kotak while the jersey itself is produced by EM.

Here are the sponsors of the team Gujarat Titans.

GT Team Performance

YearCaptainResultBest BatterBest BowlerWin
2022Hardik PandyaChampionsHardik Pandya – 487 runsMohammed Shami – 20 wickets75%

Gujarat Titans Best Players

  • Hardik Pandya: Having already ascended to the role of India’s captain in T20Is following his exploits with the Gujarat Titans team, Hardik Pandya was instrumental in the side’s victory in the inaugural season. With the bat, he outscored the likes of David Miller and Shubman Gill while striking at over 130 and even contributed eight wickets with the ball, including three in the final in a man-of-the-match performance. Pandya was equally impressive in his captaincy despite little prior experience in the role on the big stage, with many crediting his man management skills and the side’s camaraderie as the biggest reasons behind the side’s triumph. 
  • Rashid Khan: Arguably the best T20 player in the world for the past decade, the Afghan all-rounder made an instant impact on the side by scalping 19 wickets in his debut season for the franchise. Add to that his explosive strike rate of 200-plus, including a famous outburst against Chennai Super Kings at a crucial stage of the tournament, and it is easy to determine why the 24-year-old is indispensable to the team. Rashid already hs a mind-boggling 383 T20 appearances to his name while tallying an astounding 516 wickets and is bound to end up as the purple cap winner sooner or later.
  • David Miller: After several frustrating seasons with the Punjab Kings where personal success did not translate to trophies for the team, Miller made the move to Gujarat and enjoyed his best season in the tournament to date. His 481 runs at an average of 68 and a strike rate of 142.72 were enough to make him the leader of the batting order, as the Proteas pulled off some miraculous finishes with his explosive hitting prowess to reinforce himself as one of the greatest white-ball batters of the present generation. The South African would be expected to return to the GT squad 2023 with renewed motivation and battle for the orange cap once again.

These players will lead Gujarat Titans to the win.

FAQ

Who is the owner of Gujarat Titans?

A British venture capital firm named CVC Capital Partners own Gujarat Titans, led by three tycoons Steve Koltes, Donald Mackenzie and Rolly van Rappard, having reportedly acquired the side for over INR 5,000 crores in 2021.

How many times have Gujarat Titans won the IPL?

The Gujarat Titans players emerged as the champions in the only edition of the IPL they have competed in so far, thus becoming the first team to achieve the feat in their debut season since Rajasthan Royals in 2008.

Which players will GT retain in 2023?

The Gujarat Titans team retained the core that led it to the title last season as well as the players that played supporting roles around them, their most high-profile exit being spearhead Lockie Ferguson who was traded to the Kolkata Knight Riders.

How many times has GT qualified for playoffs?

Gujarat Titans made it to the playoffs in their first and only season to date by ending up on top of the points table courtesy of 10 wins in 14 games.

Who is the captain of Gujarat Titans?

The Gujarat Titans players are skippered by the enigmatic Hardik Pandya, who has also led the Men in Blue in T20Is since the World T20 2022 albeit he is yet to be officially made permanent in the role.

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