According to Simon Doull, the Gujarat Titans (GT) were unable to come across a suitable Hardik Pandya‘s replacement at the IPL 2024 auction held at the Coca-Cola Arena, Dubai. Hardik Pandya was traded to his old franchise Mumbai Indians (MI) which raised a lot of eye-brows.
Earlier Gujarat Titans (GT) made a trade with Mumbai Indians (MI) ahead of the IPL auction 2024. With the Hardik Pandya’s trade Gujarat Titans (GT) entered the auction with a highest purse of Rs. 38.15 Crore among the all other teams.
They purchased eight players at the auction for ₹30.30 crore, although they were unsuccessful in their attempts to buy Mitchell Starc and Harshal Patel, two expensive names, to the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) and Punjab Kings (PBKS) , respectively.
Simon Doull not happy with GT’s auction strategy
When Simon Doull was asked if the Gujarat Titans were able to fill the gaps they had before the auction, while reviewing the auction on Star Sports, Simon Doull responded as follows:
“I don’t think they have plugged the hole that Hardik Pandya has left by any stretch of the imagination. But they have gone to Kartik Tyagi, so they have got some local bowling, which is what they needed – Umesh Yadav and Kartik Tyagi in particular.”
The former New Zealand pacer Simon Doull feels that Spencer Johnson was an interesting pick and Azmatullah Omarzai is an absolute steal at 50 lakhs for the Gujarat Titans (GT).
“Spencer Johnson was an interesting one for me. I like him. I think he is a very, very good cricketer. Moods (Tom Moody) knows a lot about him. He was obviously with Moods at the Oval Invincibles in The Hundred. If you want an overseas all-rounder to fit into your side, Azmatullah Omarzai is an absolute steal at 50 lakhs,” Simon Doull explained.
After they were unable to sign Starc, the Titans acquired Johnson for ₹10 crore. With Rashid Khan and Noor Ahmad already within the fold, Azmatullah Omarzai‘s ₹50 lakh acquisition expanded GT’s Afghanistan presence.
I felt they tried to replace Hardik Pandya through the combined skills of two players- Tom Moody on the Gujarat Titans’ acquisition of Umesh Yadav and Shahrukh Khan
Tom Moody opined that the Gujarat Titans tried to find a replacement for Hardik Pandya through that vehicle of the Impact Player. They looked at it is Umesh Yadav who will bowl the 4 overs for team, which Hardik Pandya used to provide the team.
“I thought their auction was really interesting. I felt they tried to replace Hardik Pandya through using that vehicle of the Impact Player. The way I think they have looked at it is Umesh Yadav is the bowling overs that Hardik Pandya provided the team,” Tom Moody elaborated.
The former Australian all-rounder believes Shahrukh Khan and Umesh Yadav can play Pandya’s role together.
“You may not get four out of him but he can provide some overs and then you have got Shahrukh Khan, who can bat down the order at No. 5 or No. 6, probably more so No. 6, and be more of a finisher,” he added.
After paying ₹5.80 crore for Umesh, the Titans recruited Indian seam-bowling options Sushant Mishra and Kartik Tyagi. They paid ₹7.40 crore for Shahrukh, and ₹3.60 crore for Robin Minz to complete their 25-man lineup.
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