IPL 2025 countdown | Reshuffled Titans need to solve their jigsaw

Gujarat Titans captain Shubman Gill.
| Photo Credit: FILE PHOTO: VIJAY SONEJI

Gujarat Titans has the best win-loss ratio (1.647) of all the Indian Premier League teams, courtesy of its splendid two-year run since its inception. After a title win and a runner-up finish, it failed to match its standards last season.

This year, it would be a team seeking redemption, filled with players having a point to prove.

In a league that is spoken about as batting-friendly, and in a particularly high-scoring season last year, Titans are the only team to have scored at fewer than nine runs per over (8.71). And the only team to have scored at fewer than eight runs per over in the PowerPlay (7.72).

It has the fix this time in Jos Buttler, who is coming off a lean patch with the bat. Buttler should ideally open with Shubman Gill to maximise the PowerPlay. With Sai Sudharsan at No. 3, Titans have a solid top-order.

Uninspiring

The middle-order is uninspiring. A solid Indian batter would be sorely missed. As it is, Shahrukh Khan might get to play at No. 4, an ideal opportunity for him to redeem himself.

Birdman Glenn Phillips, who’s lately been in good touch, could play at No. 5. Shahrukh and Phillips can neither be slotted as solid nor consistent. Titans would be served well if they are to be.

Hamstrung by injuries, the team combination turned out to be an unsolved jigsaw puzzle for Titans last season. An unstable line-up was a reason why the team crashed out without making the playoffs.

With a group of multi-utility players to choose from — Washington Sundar, Sai Kishore, Sherfane Rutherford, Manav Suthar, Rahul Tewatia, and Gerald Coetzee among others — the team might struggle to settle for a combination once again.

As far as the bowling is concerned, Titans can rely on two proven world-class T20 specialists in Rashid Khan and Kagiso Rabada. But again, both Rashid and Rabada are redemption-seekers, coming off a dull last season.

Gill and Rashid need to maintain their impact from 2023 for Titans to make it to the playoffs.