Former New Zealand Test captain Kane Williamson joined the Gujarat Titans squad in Ahmedabad ahead of the 2023 IPL season starting on 31 March. Defending Champions Gujarat Titans will take on Chennai Super Kings in the opening encounter to be played in Narendra Modi Stadium, Ahmedabad.
Under the captaincy of Hardik Pandya, Gujarat Titans assembled a balanced squad and won the title on their first attempt last year. Hardik Pandya and Co will look to defend this year with another solid performance. Gujarat Titans finished top of the league stage and qualified directly for the finals winning against Rajasthan Royals.
GT retained their core players ahead of IPL 2023 including captain Hardik Pandya, Shubman Gill, David Miller, Abhinav Manahor, Sai Sudharsan, Wriddhiman Saha, Matthew Wade, Rashid Khan, Rahul Tewaita, Sai Kishore, Vijay Shankar, Mohammed Shami, Alazzari Joseph, Yash Dayal, Darshan Nalkande, Pradeep Sangwan, Jayant Yadav, Noor Ahmad.
They released six players including Varun Aaron, Lockie Ferguson, Rahmanullah Gurbaz, Dominic Drakes, Gurkeerat Singh, and Jason Roy.
Gujarat Titans will face Mumbai Indians, Kolkata Knight Riders, Rajasthan Royals, Delhi Capitals, and Lucknow Super Giants twice before facing Sunrisers Hyderabad, Chennai Super Kings, Royal Challengers Bangalore, and Punjab Kings once.
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Gujarat Titans bought Kane Williamson
Gujarat Titans bought Kane Williamson for this season with a base price of 2 Crore. He has been in brilliant form of late against Sri Lanka in the 2-Test match series including a brilliant double century at Wellington.
Sunrisers Hyderabad appointed Kane Williamson in IPL 2022 but due to poor performances, they released him before the mini-auction. Under his captaincy, SRH finished a disappointing 8th position in the points table. His form with the bat during last season was not up to the mark with 216 runs from 13 matches (13 innings) including 1 half-century with a strike rate of 93.51 and an average of 19.64.
With no Rahmanullah Gurbaz in the team, Gujarat Titans looked shaky at the start of losing wickets in the first six overs. Gujarat Titans depended upon Hardik Pandya and David Miller to bail them out of tough situations. With the coming of Williamson, there will be stability in the top order and can play according to the merit of the ball.
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