IPL 2022: Rating Team Ahmedabad's player signings
The second Gujarat-based team to be part of the Indian Premier League (IPL), Team Ahmedabad reportedly confirmed deals with three cricketers prior to the 2022 IPL auction. The CVC Capital-owned franchise enlisted the services of serial title-winner Hardik Pandya, Afghan spin-bowling sensation Rashid Khan and talented young opener Shubman Gill.
While Gill will set the team back by INR 7 crore, Pandya and Rashid will dent the team's purse by a whopping INR 15 crore each. According to the rules of the auction, each franchise can spend a total of INR 90 crore on its players, meaning Team Ahmedabad will head to this year's auction with INR 53 crore remaining.
With Pandya being considered to lead the side, Team Ahmedabad have virtually ruled out the possibility of buying a captain from the auction pool. All three of their signings were top draws at their previous franchises but narrowly missed out on retention.
Here are the ratings out of 10 for each of Team Ahmedabad's signings.
#1 Hardik Pandya - 5/10
Having won the IPL on four occasions, Hardik Pandya enters Team Ahmedabad with a stellar past record as a finisher and some handy numbers as a bowler. Being from Vadodara, Pandya is a local boy for the Gujarat-based franchise and can thus be the center of the team's identity. The all-rounder's popularity is quite likely to bring in fans, especially with him likely to lead the team.
At this point, however, Pandya's career hangs in freefall, with his ability to bowl still in question due to a long-term back injury. While he was able to deal damage in 2020 as a pure batter, his batting form deserted him in 2021, leading to a horror IPL and T20 World Cup run. He does not have well-established captaincy credentials either, which makes the massive investment by Team Ahmedabad in him seem extravagant.
#2 Rashid Khan - 9.5/10
Rashid Khan is something of a T20 legend despite his young age and relatively short cricketing career. Having already crossed 400 T20 wickets, the Afghan leg-spinner will look to notch up many more in IPL 2022, playing for a franchise other than the Sunrisers Hyderabad for the first time. Rashid has led Afghanistan in the past and brings with him a sharp cricketing brain.
Signing Rashid Khan gives Team Ahmedabad a wily bowler who can also make strong contributions with the bat in the slog overs. The 23-year-old's unusual action and gamut of variations are sure to make him the team's strike bowler, who can pick up wickets regardless of the game situation.
One of the standout international players in recent years in the league, Rashid at INR 15 crore is a worthy long-term investment.
#3 Shubman Gill - 8/10
Striding into the IPL off a successful ICC Under-19 World Cup campaign in 2018, Shubman Gill spent the majority of two seasons batting in the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) middle order before an inspired change saw him make the opening spot his own. Winner of the IPL Emerging Player Award in 2019, Gill was one of the team's highest run-scorers in the next two seasons and played a number of mature innings during KKR's campaign in 2021.
Although Gill's timing and shot selection mark him out as a quality player, his strike rate at the top of the innings was identified as a road-block to the team's success. At one point, Gill was seen as a future KKR leader, but his strike rate saw him fall behind fellow opener Venkatesh Iyer in the pecking order when it came to retentions.
INR 7 crore for a young cricketer like Gill might prove to be a prudent purchase if the youngster improves his attacking game in 2022.