IPL 2022: 3 unsold players that can replace Jason Roy in the Gujarat Titans squad
The Gujarat Titans signed 20 players at the IPL mega-auction. England opener Jason Roy was their major acquisition in the batting department for ₹2 crores. Their other major overseas signings included Lockie Ferguson (₹10 crores), David Miller (₹3 crores) and Matthew Wade (₹2.4 crores).
Roy was in action for Quetta Gladiators in the Pakistan Super League last month. However, he pulled out of the IPL citing bio-bubble fatigue as the reason.
IPL 2022. https://t.co/fZ0LofBgSE
Although Jason Roy is a formidable T20 opener, his absence might just open the doors for a lot of other quality players on the circuit. Many talents were unsold at the IPL auction due to team requirements. Let's take a look at three such options.
#3 David Wiese
Namibian all-rounder David Wiese was a part of the IPL way back in 2015. He played for Royal Challengers Bangalore and had a good season as an all-rounder. However, since then Wiese hasn't been picked by any franchise.
Wiese has been in red hot-form in T20 cricket off late. He had a great campaign at the ICC Men's T20 World Cup, where he managed to take the team to the Super 12 stage of the tournament. In the PSL, Wiese stepped up for Lahore Qalandars in both the eliminator and the final with both bat and ball in their first title win.
While Wiese is not a like-for-like replacement, his presence will certainly help the Titans in building a stronger middle-order. This also allows the IPL side to have an extra bowling option.
#2 Rahmanullah Gurbaz
Afghan wicket-keeper Rahmanullah Gurbaz is one of the options that Gujarat might consider as a replacement for Jason Roy. The 20-year-old has scored 1617 runs in 67 T20 matches at an average of 25 and a strike rate of 153, with 10 fifty-plus scores to his name.
Gurbaz played for Islamabad United in this year's Pakistan Super League, scoring 139 runs in six innings at a mind-boggling strike rate of 181. His brisk starts at the top of the order were extremely impactful and helped ISLU in making it to the playoffs.
Gurbaz's USP is that he is an extremely attacking batter who doesn't put a huge price on his wicket. Gurbaz's approach would work perfectly in the current Gujarat Titans playing XI setup since Shubman Gill is an anchor-type batter who can hold up one end.
#1 Colin Munro
Anyway, time for a well deserved Colin Munro return, I guess.
Colin Munro is one of the most destructive T20 batters of all time in New Zealand. He had set a base price of ₹1.5 crores at the IPL mega-auction. However, Munro was unfortunate to be unsold as overseas openers weren't the most sought-after commodity at the auction.
In 327 T20s, the southpaw has scored 8230 runs at an average of 31 and a strike rate of 141. He has five centuries and 49 half-centuries to his name. Munro's recent form has been quite impressive. Since 2020, he has scored over 2500 runs at a healthy strike rate of 133.
Munro might just end up being the perfect fit for the Gujarat-based IPL franchise. If he opens with Gill, the team will have a left-right combination at the top of the order. Munro is also a player who goes hard from the first ball. This will ensure that Gill can take a bit of time to settle in and take up the anchor role in the team.