IPL Auction 2023: Gujarat Titans Retained and Released Players with remaining Purse Value

IPL Auction 2023: For a team to make their debut in a competition and go on to win, that sounds like a fairytale. But that’s what happened when two new franchises joined the Indian Premier League in 2022. It just changed the outset of the tournament totally. The two most successful teams, the Mumbai Indians and Chennai Super Kings, ended the competition at the bottom. On the other hand, both new teams, the Gujarat Titans and the Lucknow Super Giants, ended up in the top four.

In fact, Gujarat went on to win the tournament as well. And it was Hardik Pandya as a captain and Ashish Nehra as a mentor who changed the game. With this, GT became only the second team to win the IPL title in their maiden season. And now it is time to defend their title. That is why the franchise has taken very calculated steps in its retention ahead of the auction. 

IPL Auction 2023: Retained players for GT

To defend their title, GT has kept the core players who delivered last time. Hardik will be back in action, leading the team. Young Indian opener Shubman Gill and veteran South African batter David Miller are also among the retained players. These three players scored over 400 runs each in the 2022 season. Wriddhiman Saha has also received the green single and will be with the team this season.

Well, there were two names that looked doubtful, and the first was veteran Australian wicketkeeper Mathew Wade, who looked off-color last season. But the franchise has stuck with him for the next season. Then, it was all-rounder Vijay Shankar, who also failed miserably, but GT has shown trust in him. One of the main strengths of Gujarat, Rashid Khan, was also expected.

Indian uncapped players like Sai Sudharsan, Abhinav Manohar, Rahul Tewatia, Yash Dayal, and R Sai Kishore are also among the retained players. In the pace bowling departments, GT has kept Mohammed Shami and Alzarri Joseph (WI) as two experienced pacers. Spin-bowling all-rounder Jayant Yadav also stayed in the team. Overall, Gujarat has kept almost the same team that played last season.

Retained Players: Hardik Pandya (c), Shubman Gill, David Miller, Rashid Khan, Wriddhiman Saha, Matthew Wade, Abhinav Manohar, Sai Sudarshan, Rahul Tewatia, Mohammad Shami, Vijay Shankar, R Sai Kishore, Jayant Yadav, Alzarri Joseph, Yash Dayal, Pradeep Sangwan, Noor Ahmad, Darshan Nalkande

IPL Auction 2023: Released Players for GT

The big news that came as a surprise to many was when the defending champions released their premium pacer, Lockie Ferguson. The Kiwi pacer appeared in almost every game last season and performed admirably. Ferguson picked up 12 wickets in 13 games at an economy of 8.96. He along with Mohammed Shami made a dangreous combo. GT traded him to KKR.

Another trade that Gujarat made was the Afghanistan wicketkeeper Rahmanullah Gurbaz, who joined as a GT in place of Jason Roy. However, Gurbaz didn’t play a single game, so he was also traded to KKR. Apart from these two, the franchise also released Jason Roy, Varun Aaron, Gurkeerat Singh, and Dominic Drakes. These are those players who were not used much in the last season.

Released Players: Rahmanullah Gurbaz, Lockie Ferguson, Jason Roy, Dominic Drakes, Gurkeerat Singh, and Varun Aaron

Remaining Purse Value for Gujarat Titans

The defending champions are left with a decent amount of money. Their remaining purse value for the Gujarat Titans is INR 19.25 crore. Now, the biggest challenge for the team is to find a good pacer, and other departments look fine within the team.

Team Wise Retained Players List of IPL Teams