Prior to the IPL 2023 season, Kane Williamson has signed for the Gujarat Titans (GT). At the IPL 2023 Auction, the defending champions landed the New Zealand squad captain for his base price of INR 2 crore.
In IPL 2022, Williamson led the SunRisers Hyderabad (SRH) team. He was still SRH’s top player before the big auction. The Kiwi player, however, was unable to defend his astronomical $14 crore asking price.
He participated in 13 games with the Orange Army and scored 216 runs at a 93.51 strike rate. Last season, his batting average was under 20. Williamson only received one bid at the IPL 2023 Auction as a result. In a special video posted by the Titans after the IPL 2023 auction, the New Zealand captain said:
“Kem chho Gujarat? (How are you Gujarat) Kane Williamson here. Feels great to join the family at the Gujarat Titans. Looking forward to the up and coming season. Aava De.”
Look who's got a message for you, #TitansFAM! 💌
Hear from our new recruit, Kane Williamson… 💙
Drop a welcome message for our Kiwi bhai ✍🏼#IPLAuction | #TATATIPL | #AavaDe pic.twitter.com/NZQLQn6lpW
— Gujarat Titans (@gujarat_titans) December 23, 2022
The previous IPL season was dominated by the Gujarat Titans. They won the league stage points race and advanced to the playoffs. To get to the championship game, GT defeated the Rajasthan Royals (RR) in Qualifier 1. The Ahmedabad-based team defeated RR once more in the IPL championship game.
The Gujarat Titans were in need of a young wicket-keeper batter, a suitable No.3 hitter, and a couple more names for their pace attack going into the IPL 2023 Auction. The wicket-keeper position was filled by KS Bharat, and it appears that Kane Williamson will bat third for them.
Shubman Gill and Wriddhiman Saha should continue opening the innings, with Williamson, Hardik Pandya, David Miller, Rahul Tewatia, and Rashid Khan forming the rest of the batting lineup. Kane Williamson’s performance for his second franchise remains to be seen.
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