Skipper gone, Titans have their work cut out

No team in IPL history other than Gujarat Titans began by qualifying for back-to-back finals. They appeared to lack batting firepower on first impression. But with the title on debut and a runners-up medal in the last two seasons, GT showed all their wheels were in motion on the back of their squad depth. Under first time captain Hardik Pandya, GT became the team to beat.

- Rasesh Mandani

Pandya has walked away to Mumbai Indians. One learns, talk of Pandya's possible return to MI had been on from last season. Having designed their team branding around Pandya's local appeal, it's a challenge for the franchise's marketing wing to reposition the team.

But it will be a greater test for head coach Ashish Nehra and team director Vikram Solanki to cover for Pandya's all-round absence at the auction table. A like-for-like replacement is impossible to find from the 333 players in the pool for the December 19 auction. But the decision to release as many eight players suggests they could be gearing up for making one big splash in the auction room in Dubai.

To begin with, in Shubman Gill they have a quality replacement as captain. A sound head and holding unlimited batting potential, Gill has long been marked for bigger things. Gill has had a hugely successful 2023 and he understands his T20 game a lot better.

Some of that credit goes to GT's playing philosophy which allowed an orthodox top order batter to grow into his innings. Once he found his gears, Gill began to explode. He may now want to step up and lead the way.

Pandya would hold the batting together at No. 4 and hit it out of the park when he held on for the death overs.