Gujarat Titans capable of making a lasting impression

After starting off with some star names, the newcomers added some much-needed experience in the form of Matthew Wade and David Miller

Gujarat Titans will not be making up the numbers on their inaugural IPL performance after a decent if not spectacular showing in the mega auction.

The newly-formed franchise had an impressive first day picking up the likes of Mohammed Shami, Lockie Ferguson and Jason Roy.

Rashid Khan, Hardik Pandya and Shubman Gill had already signed up ahead of the weekend.

Naturally, day two saw fewer big-name deals but some astute purchases, such as a much-needed wicketkeeper in Matthew Wade, whose runs were integral in Australia’s T20 World Cup success, for 2.4 crore (£234,000).

^{Matthew Wade was a much-needed day two pick-up (Mark Kolbe/Getty Images)}

The biggest deal of the day for the franchise was uncapped Indian fast-bowler Yash Dayal for 3.2 crore (£313,000), and he was followed by the vastly experienced South African batter David Miller for 3 crore (£293,000) and West Indies multi-format seamer Alzarri Joseph for 2.4 crore (£235,000).

They seem to have built a formidable bowling battery, combining the experience of Shami with the pace of Joseph and Ferguson. Rashid's skill and pedigree means their first-choice attack is among the best.

Equally, at the top of the order Roy – who recently hit 116 from 57 balls in the PSL – and Gill represent a wealth of white-ball experience and should regularly provide a foundation for their team to build.

Questions may be raised around the middle-order, with a platform badly needed to get the best out of Pandya.

The India allrounder, who is not certain to take the ball, will also lead the side and batting lead Gary Kirsten is excited at the prospect of working alongside the all-rounder.

Box of tricks: Rashid Khan (Karim Jaafar/AFP/Images)

Speaking to Star Sports, he said: “I am looking forward to working with Hardik as a young and new captain and I think he will be really motivated to come in and show what he is capable of at this level of the game as a leader.

"He is a great player, and he is really motivated and is very keen to get in the mix and get involved. I think he understands the importance of this tournament.

"What I’ve heard is that he is ready to go and get properly in the mix from a leadership perspective.”

Gujarat Titans squad: Hardik Pandya, Shubman Gill, Rashid Khan, Jason Roy, Mohammad Shami, Lockie Ferguson, Abhinav Sadarangani, Rahul Tewatia, Noor Ahmad, R Sai Kishore, Dominic Drakes, Jayant Yadav, Vijay Shankar, Darshan Nalkande, Yash Dayal, Alzarri Joseph, Pradeep Sangwan, David Miller, Wriddhiman Saha, Matthew Wade, Gurkeerat Singh, Varun Aaron