"How incredibly they will complement each other" - Aakash Chopra on Gujarat Titans' opening pair of Shubman Gill and Jos Buttler for IPL 2025
Aakash Chopra has opined that the Gujarat Titans (GT) had a phenomenal IPL 2025 auction. He picked Jos Buttler as one of their great buys, highlighting that the England wicketkeeper-batter will brilliantly complement Shubman Gill at the top of the order.
The Titans retained Rashid Khan (₹18 crore), Sai Sudharsan (₹8.50 crore), Rahul Tewatia (₹4 crore), and Shahrukh Khan (₹4 crore) apart from Gill (₹16.50 crore) before the auction. They spent ₹68.85 crore to buy 20 more players at the auction, with Buttler (₹15.75 crore) being their most expensive pick.
In a video shared on his YouTube channel 'Aakash Chopra', the former India opener pointed out that the Gujarat Titans' acquisition of Buttler filled the wicketkeeper-batter's vacancy at the top of their order.
"Seeing this auction, you feel 'Wow'. They bought a very expensive player, that was Jos Buttler, but they needed a keeper-opener. They managed with Wriddhiman Saha for a long time, they kept Matthew Wade in their team, and Rahmanullah Gurbaz also used to be a part of this team, but they didn't have a keeper-batter of Jos Buttler's quality," he said (1:05).
"Buttler came in the first round and they went all the way and kept him in their team. Imagine Jos Buttler and Shubman Gill, how incredibly they will complement each other, and the brain - he is a T20 World Cup-winning captain, a great person, and an excellent strategist," Chopra added.
Chopra noted that the Titans also bought Kagiso Rabada (₹10.75 crore) and Mohammed Siraj (₹12.25 crore) in the initial rounds. He added that the duo's acquisition bolstered their bowling which seemed slightly weak in IPL 2024 in Mohammed Shami's absence.
"Sai Sudharsan can open or come at No. 3" - Aakash Chopra on Gujarat Titans' probable XII
![Sai Sudharsan (527) was the Gujarat Titans' highest run-getter in IPL 2024. [P/C: iplt20.com]](https://statico.sportskeeda.com/editor/2024/12/9320e-17333167463492-1920.jpg?w=500)
Reflecting on the Gujarat Titans' probable XII, Aakash Chopra noted that Sai Sudharsan and Shahrukh Khan can potentially follow Shubman Gill and Jos Buttler in the batting order.
"Firstly, they have 25 players. So they have amazing backups. The XII is looking something like this - Jos Buttler with Shubman Gill, and Sai Sudharsan can open or come at No. 3. Since they retained Shahrukh Khan, we can assume he might play at No. 4 but he can go to No. 5 as well," he said (2:20) in the same video.
The cricketer-turned-commentator added that either Sherfane Rutherford or Glenn Phillips can complete their top six along with Rahul Tewatia.
"They have two players in Sherfane Rutherford and Glenn Phillips for the one available slot that can be given to an overseas middle-order striker. It's okay if they didn't get David Miller, they have got an equally competent backup. Then they had retained Rahul Tewatia. So he is also there," Chopra observed.
Chopra pointed out that the Titans will have batting depth despite playing three frontline spinners and as many pacers.
"They have Rashid Khan, Washington Sundar, whose name featured among the steal buys in the auction, and then Sai Kishore. I have counted batting till No. 9. After that, Kagiso Rabada, Prasidh Krishna and Mohammed Siraj. The first XII is looking great," he noted.
Aakash Chopra's probable Gujarat Titans' XII: Shubman Gill, Jos Buttler, Sai Sudharsan, Shahrukh Khan, Sherfane Rutherford/Glenn Phillips, Rahul Tewatia, Rashid Khan, Washington Sundar, Sai Kishore, Kagiso Rabada, Prasidh Krishna, Mohammed Siraj