Gujarat Titans Need To Make At Least 2 Changes In Playing XI ASAP
It has been a pleasant start for Gujarat Titans in IPL 2022 with several players coming up with impactful performances to win them three out of four games. However, winning games doesn't mean Gujarat's been performing to full potential.
There are several holes in the playing XI that needs to be addressed before it's too late. Titans' batting isn't very strong and most of the duties are shared between Shubman Gill and Hardik Pandya.
The opening combo of Mathew Wade and Shubman Gill hasn't put on a memorable stand. 4, 2, 32, and 24 - a total of 62 runs in 40 balls. While Gill is a relatively slow starter, Wade needed to give a quick start to the partnership but that too hasn't been the case with the Australian's score reading - 30, 1, 6, 19 - a total of 56 runs in 57 balls.
With an already a not-so-well-established lineup, the slow starts are putting more responsibility on Hardik Pandya, who already is playing a new role this year, and Shubman Gill.
To counter this, the Titans could and should try Rahmanullah Gurbaz in place of Wade in the opening. While this has already been presented earlier, Gurbaz is a terrific hitter of both pace and spin. He has the ability to give some quick starts and let Gill play for the longer inning.
Another aspect of Titans' playing XI is the lack of quality fifth bowler. Gujarat is going with a one-dimensional attack of four fast bowlers and a leg-spinner. While the first four bowlers - Mohammad Shami, Lockie Ferguson, Hardik Pandya, and Rashid Khan have been doing well, the fifth bowler's over are something to worry about.
Titans have tried Varun Aaron, Rahul Tewatia, and Darshan Nalkande for the spot but none of them have been able to control runs. To get break the one-dimensional attack and get more control of the scoring rate, R Sai Kishore must be given a go in the playing XI.
The left-arm spinner has been warming the bench for more than two seasons now - first for CSK and now for Gujarat. Sai Kishore was bought by Titans for 3 crore INR on the back of stellar domestic performances in the last few seasons.
He has picked 43 wickets at an economy of 5.46. He can bowl in both powerplay and the middle overs as per the matchups. Sai Kishore will also bring in the classic left-arm angle to Gujarat's bowling lineup.
These two changes will give a much better outlook of Gujarat Titans' playing XI where they will have multiple options in the bowling and a better support player to Shubman Gill and Hardik Pandya.
Also Read: IPL 2022 - Scorecard
Gujarat Titans Playing XI vs RR - Rahmanullah Gurbaz, Shubman Gill, Sai Sudharshan, Hardik Pandya, David Miller, Abhinav Monahor, Rahul Tewatia, Rashid Khan, R Sai Kishore, Mohammed Shami, Lockie Ferguson