IPL 2024 Auction - Gujarat Titans’ Strategy: Which Players Will Shubman Gill And Co. Go For?

Champions in 2022 and last season's runner-ups, Gujarat Titans will head into the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2024 Auction in Dubai on December 19 with a Hardik Pandya-sized hole to fill. Having traded Hardik, who captained the side in the last two seasons, to Mumbai Indians in an all-cash deal, Gujarat Titans, however, will have a hefty purse of INR 38.15 crore - the most for any team - to address the enigmatic all-rounder's loss and potentially strengthen their squad at the IPL 2024 auction.

Barring Hardik's trade, GT have released eight players - Dasun Shanaka, Yash Dayal, KS Bharat, Shivam Mavi, Urvil Patel, Pradeep Sangwan, Alzarri Joseph and Odean Smith.

A total of 17 players, including most of the heavy-hitters from last season, have been retained in the GT squad. In what will soften Hardik's loss a bit, New Zealand ace Kane Williamson, who missed last season with an injury, is back on the roster.

GT's retained players list for IPL 2024

Shubman Gill

David Miller

Wriddhiman Saha

Rahul Tewatia

Mohammed Shami

Mohit Sharma

Rashid Khan

Kane Williamson

Matthew Wade

Abhinav Manohar

Darshan Nalkande

Vijay Shankar

B Sai Sudharsan

Jayant Yadav

Josh Little

Noor Ahmad

R Sai Kishore

The Titans need at least one addition to their squad to meet the minimum requirement of 18 players, but can spread their budget across a total of eight players, including two overseas recruits.

GT's strategy for IPL 2024 auction

Though Williamson is not a like-for-like replacement for Hardik, a player of the Kiwi's calibre and experience will be expected to seamlessly slot into the line-up. The Kiwi skipper can also lend his expertise to the young Shubman Gill, who has been named the new GT captain after Hardik's departure.

However, GT will still