IPL 2022: Hardik & Rashid Khan Among Players to Watch Out for in Gujarat Titans
Gujarat Titans and Lucknow Super Giants face each other on Monday, 28 March.
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There has been a lot of buzz and excitement about the new teams in the IPL this season. Both Lucknow Super Giants and Gujarat Titans will be hoping to live up to that expectation too. In fact, both the teams will play each other as early as 28 March, the third day of the new season too.
The Gujarat Titans will be led by the dynamic Hardik Pandya, and they had also picked the likes of Afghanistan’s Rashid Khan and India’s Shubman Gill ahead of the Mega Auction in February. At the Auction, Gujarat made some interesting acquisitions for their squad, and will hope their plans do work out well, as they look to make their mark in their maiden season.
So, who are the players to watch out for?
Hardik Pandya
Considered to be among the most dynamic players in white-ball cricket in India, Hardik has been troubled by injuries since 2019, and has not been able to bowl at full tilt either, causing him to fall behind in the pecking order for the national team.
Now, he is captaining an IPL side for the first, after being an integral part of the Mumbai Indians set-up till last year. Hardik’s form and fitness has been under the scanner for quite a while now, and the Titans this season provides him with a good chance to silence his doubters.
As a batter, his explosive nature is well documented, and if he bowls as well, he can be quite a handful for opposition teams. That apart, he will be among those who must do well in the IPL, which is months before the T20 World Cup in Australia.
Not only is this a chance for him to bounce back into the Indian team, but also a time to show off his leadership skills. If all works out well for Hardik, Indian cricket will get a big boost, and so will the all-rounder’s cricket.
Mohammad Shami led the pace attack for Punjab Kings in IPL 2021.
(Image: BCCI)
Mohammed Shami
An experienced bowler, Shami has seen the ups and downs in the game a fair amount and would not be too phased by any kind of pressure. Going into this season of the IPL, Shami will want to be at his dangerous best, which is a scary prospect for most batters.
If Shami is in form and firing, it is quite a task to get him away, especially to score big runs against him. However, one of the top seamers in Indian cricket, Shami though can go for runs once in a while, which is something that both he and the team will hope to control.
The ace pacer too will be keen to put his best foot forward as the performances in the IPL are likely to play a big role in the selection for the T20 World Cup later in the year.
Shubman Gill
A stylish top order bat, Shubman Gill has impressed many experts in the game, especially in the longest format, however, his inability to score quick runs regularly has resulted in some criticism as well.
Playing for KKR before this, Gill opened the innings and produced a few good knocks, but his scoring rate was a source of concern every now and then as well. He’s been away due to injury, which has forced him to get a rest, and he will be keen to address the criticisms as soon as he can.
It is still quite early in Gill’s career, and he has time on hand to work on his game, but the right-handed bat will be keen to make a strong impression, especially with the new team management looking through younger options in the set-up.
Wriddhiman Saha
Out of contention in the Test arena in the national team, Saha is possibly on the final legs of his career at the highest level. While it is difficult to see him break into the Indian team again, the veteran from Bengal has been a much-talked about figure in Indian cricket in recent months, for incidents unrelated to his performances.
The best way to respond in such an unfortunate situation is with a fantastic performance, and at Gujarat, he could be a key figure. Remember, he has scored a century in the IPL in the final in 2014, scoring at a strike rate of over 200. While that’s was a few years ago, Saha is possibly at a place where he’d want his performances to do most of the talking.
Wriddhiman Saha in training
Image:BCCI
Lockie Ferguson
A key cog in the New Zealand set-up, Lockie Ferguson is a dangerous bowler, especially due to his pace and ability to surprise batters with the short one. The New Zealander is not new to the IPL but hasn’t really had a consistent run in the tournament yet.
In the few games he played for KKR, Ferguson added a lot of bite to the bowling attack, and will be asked to do a similar thing for the Gujarat side. He can bowl in the region of 150 kmph which can obviously cause a lot of problems for the batters.
If he is in form and bowling well, the Gujarat side will have a quite a useful bowler in their line-up which will no doubt help them restrict opposition batters.