IPL 2025: Rating teams based on their retentions and releases
The 10 IPL franchises submitted their list of retained players on Thursday, October 31, as the journey to the 18th edition of the cash-rich league got underway.
5. Gujarat Titans (GT)
Gujarat Titans (GT) came on board in the IPL ahead of the 2022 edition. They went on to win the title under Hardik Pandya to mark their debut in the 10-team league. In the following edition, they were beaten by Chennai Super Kings off the last ball in the final. Shubman Gill replaced Hardik as the captain of the side after the latter completed a highly talked about move to Mumbai Indians before IPL 2024. The Titans had their worst season in the IPL as they finished at No. 8.
Titans retained Rashid Khan, Shubman, Sai Sudharsan, Rahul Tewatia, and Shahrukh Khan ahead of the mega-auction. There were reports of Shubman wanting to leave the franchise. However, on the contrary, the management was able to convince the youngster to be the second retention and take INR 16.50 crore, leaving INR 18 crore for the top retention, Rashid. Meanwhile, the supremely talented Sudharsan was retained for INR 8.50 crore. Uncapped finishers Tewatia and Shahrukh were retained for INR 4 crore each.
Titans have retained two top-order Indian batters, including their captain. They have the talismanic Rashid to spearhead the bowling attack and Tewatia and Sharukh will be in charge of finishing games. However, they will need to rope in some fast bowlers at the auction table. It was a bold call to leave out Mohammed Shami but the Bengal pacer can be picked up with the help of the solitary RTM card that they will have.
A remaining purse of INR 69 crore is good enough to allow them the chance to chase some big names at the auction table. After their decent outing in the IPL auction, Gujarat are in a good position to make some solid additions to their team and bounce back after a horrendous performance last season.
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