IPL 2025: Who should Gujarat Titans retain ahead of the auction?

With the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025 mega auction around the corner, the Gujarat Titans (GT) management will be all set to make several changes to their squad after having a forgettable IPL 2024.

The guidelines for the upcoming auction allow a franchise to retain a total of six players, including right-to-match (RTM) options. However, it is unlikely that GT would use up all six spots after finishing the 2024 campaign with only five wins out of 14 games.

Find the implications of the new IPL player regulations here.

Following a successful first two seasons, winning the title in 2022 and finishing as the runners-up in 2023, GT went through a major dynamic shift with their captain Hardik Pandya leaving the franchise. Not only did they lose a proven leader, they also failed to find a genuine pace-bowling allrounder and a finisher of his calibre. After finishing eighth in the IPL 2024, the GT management will be forced to make a number of new recruitments and revamp the squad.

Gill, Rashid, Miller: Three locks for retention

Shubman Gill was at the helm of the side in the IPL 2024, taking over Pandya. Although it is unclear if the GT management will continue with him as the skipper, he will likely earn retention after scoring 426 runs in 12 matches at an average of 38.73 and a strike rate of 147.40 with the highest score of 104 in 2024.

A player who has seemingly locked in a spot on the list is Afghanistan’s Rashid Khan. The star leg-spinner is one of the best bowlers in the format; and he also provides balance with his ability score quick runs at the backend of an innings. David Miller’s retention also looks all but sealed given his consistency and experience in the competition. He scored 210 runs at an average of 35.00 and a strike rate of 151.08 in the previous season.

Sai Sudharsan to be retained?

GT might have to let go of some of their star players such as Kane Williamson and Mohammed Shami due to their lengthy absence from the team over the last two seasons. Despite all the setbacks in 2024, a silver lining for GT was the emergence of their 23-year-old top-order batter, Sai Sudarshan.

After showing a lot of promise in 2023, Sudarshan backed it up by scoring 527 runs at an average of 47.91 and a strike rate of 141.29 with a century and two half-centuries in 2024. GT might look to use their RTM card on the Tamil Nadu batter. As for uncapped retention options, the likes of Rahul Tewatia and Abhinav Manohar are on the table, as well as potentially Mohit Sharma.

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