3 reasons why Kane Williamson is a bargain buy for Gujarat Titans
New Zealand's white-ball skipper Kane Williamson was the very first player to get his name called out at the recently concluded IPL 2023 Auction, held in Kochi on Friday, December 23.
Williamson was bought by the Gujarat Titans (GT) for his base price of ₹2 crore. After his name was announced, there was no immediate response. Following a few moments of silence, defending champions Gujarat decided to enter the fray and acquired his services with their only bid.
Kane Williamson is sold to Gujarat Titans.
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The 32-year old captained Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) in IPL 2022 but was surprisingly released before the retention list was announced in November.
However, given his immense experience and batting prowess, there was always going to be interest among fans on where Williamson will end up. Picking him up at his base price could turn out to be a very smart move by the Gujarat-based franchise.
Here are three reasons why Kane Williamson is a bargain buy for GT at the IPL mini-auction.
#1 Solves the No. 3 conundrum for GT
Defending champions are ready for their title defense 👊
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Despite their succesful campaign last year, Gujarat had their issues with the number three slot. The franchise tried several players, including Matthew Wade, Sai Sudharshan, and Vijay Shankar at No.3. However, none of them managed to stake their claim at the top of the order.
With Kane Williamson coming in, the Kiwi international will provide experience at the No. 3 slot. Williamson regularly bats at the same position for New Zealand and his best IPL campaign with his previous franchise, Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH), came while batting at No. 3 as well.
Coming at one down, he bagged the Orange cap in IPL 2018 by amassing 735 runs at an average of 52.5 and a strike rate of above 142 across 17 innings.
#2 Kane Williamson will be good value for money
With his solidity, experience & batting prowess, Kane Williamson remains an asset for any team 👏 👏
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In an auction where the top four of the six most expensive buys ever took place, it was a shrewd move by GT to acquire Williamson for his base price of 2 crore.
While his strike rate has been a talking point in the recent past, Williamson is one of the world's most technically sound batters and has proven his mettle in all formats of the game.
Overall, his T20 numbers make for excellent reading, scoring as many as 6304 runs at an average of above 31 and a strike rate of nearly 123 across 236 T20 innings.
Bagging him at just a couple of crores may well be the steal of this year's auction.
#3 Adds important value to the leadership group
Kane Williamson joins Hardik Pandya's Gujarat Titans for INR 2 Crore. https://t.co/HxgbLbhe7s
In his maiden IPL campaign as a skipper, Hardik Pandya exceeded everyone's expectations and led GT to a remarkable IPL win earlier this year. Alongside head coach Ashish Nehra and other coaching staff, including Gary Kirsten and Vikram Solanki, Pandya created a calm environment in the team and proved to be an influential leader for Gujarat.
Adding Williamson to the leadership group further enhances the vast experience and might of GT's think tank. Given that he has captained New Zealand and SRH for many years, Kane Williamson's inputs will certainly be invaluable for his new franchise.