Gujarat Titans IPL 2024 review: What went wrong?
Gujarat Titans' (GT) IPL 2024 campaign came to an end on a disappointing note, as their last league match against SunRisers Hyderabad at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium on Thursday, May 16, was abandoned without a ball being bowled. Before that, GT's clash with Kolkata Knight Riders at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad was also called off.
Even if the Gujarat Titans had won both matches, it wouldn't have made much of a difference to their fortunes, as they had fallen way behind in the race for IPL 2024 playoff spots. Eventually, Gujarat ended the season with 12 points from 14 matches. They won five games and lost seven, while their last two matches, as mentioned above, produced no result due to rain.
The year 2024 marks the first instance of GT failing to qualify for the playoffs in their short three-year history in the IPL. The Titans won the championship during their maiden appearance in 2022, while they finished runners-up last season. As Gujarat Titans reflect on a disappointing IPL 2024 season, we analyze what went wrong for them:
Hardik Pandya's exit disturbed the balance of the side
Seasoned all-rounder Hardik Pandya had been central to Gujarat Titans' success in 2022 and 2023 as captain and player.
Not many gave GT much chance of making the playoffs in their debut season, as they didn't have a strong side on paper. But Pandya inspired his troops and guided them to glory, leading from the front with bat and ball.
In the 2023 season, Gujarat Titans also continued from where they left off in the previous edition. GT reached the final with some impressive performances. However, rain and some brilliance from Chennai Super Kings meant that Pandya and co. had to settle for the runners-up crown.
In combination with head coach Ashish Nehra, Pandya had built a match-winning outfit. His exit from the franchise completely threw the GT machinery out of gear. New captain Shubman Gill tried his best but had too big shoes to fill and, eventually, failed to deliver as leader. That’s the harsh reality.
Speaking to the media recently, Gill downplayed Pandya's exit from the franchise:
"A player of Hardik bhai's caliber, if he's missing out of any team, then it would affect the combination of any team. But the beauty of team sport is it's never done by one player. ... A player does play a big role in that matter, but the team can't only be dependent on one player."
That point taken, it would be tough to deny that Pandya's absence was not felt by GT in IPL 2024.
Failure of big names in Gujarat Titans line-up
With Pandya gone, Gujarat Titans needed the other big names in the line-up to stand up and be counted. But that too wasn't to be the case.
Gill, himself, failed to live up to expectations with the bat. He scored 426 runs in 12 innings at an average of 38.72 and a strike rate of 147.40. However, barring the ton against Chennai, he had only two half-centuries.
Seasoned leg-spinner Rashid Khan was touted to be GT's match-winner with the ball. However, the genius from Afghanistan had an unexpectedly underwhelming season.
In 12 innings, he picked up 10 scalps at an average of 36.70 and an economy rate of 8.40. His lack of potency affected Gujarat Titans in a big way, considering how heavily they depend on him for wickets.
Looking at the others, the likes of David Miller, Wriddhiman Saha, Vijay Shankar and Azmatullah Omarzai disappointed with the bat.
They were mainly dependent on B Sai Sudharsan (527 runs from 12 innings) to deliver the good with the willow in IPL 2024. Among bowlers, there were no standout efforts. Mohit Sharma, Noor Ahmad, Umesh Yadav and R Sai Kishore impressed but only in phases.
A poor season overall
To conclude, it would be fair to say that it was a poor season overall for GT. They just couldn't gel together as a team under a new leader. In Gill's own words:
"We've been a bit up and down this season. It's important in a big season like this to be balanced as a team and as a performing unit, which we were not able to do this season."
The Gujarat Titans captain added that injuries to key players also affected their performances. All said that done, it was a season of lessons learned the harsh way for Gill and Co. How they pick themselves up from here would determine their journey going ahead.