Former Indian Opener Aakash Chopra feels that 2022 IPL winner Gujarat Titans will look to acquire an Indian finisher like Shahrukh Khan in the upcoming IPL auction 2024 in Dubai. The Tamil Nadu batter was released by Punjab Kings ahead of the mini-auction on December 19th.
With Gujarat Titans trading Hardik Pandya to the Mumbai Indians, the Gujarat Titans released eight players before the auction. They have a total budget of 38.15 crore and can buy up to eight players, including two foreigners.
In a Video shared on his YouTube channel, Aakash Chopra feels that Gujarat Titans have some issues with their batting order, stating that the team needs one proper batter in the lineup, who can finish things for the team at the backend of the innings, and named renowned finisher Shahrukh Khan to find a place in the team.
“They could have a few problems in batting. Wriddhiman Saha, Shubman Gill, and Sai Sudharsan play as the top three. It’s good Kane Williamson will also be available here. After that, Vijay Shankar, Abhinav Manohar, David Miller, and Matthew Wade.”
“It looks alright but it’s better if they get one more batter. I feel they need a batter like Shahrukh Khan, a finisher-type batter because just in case Wriddhiman Saha doesn’t do well, they can get Sai Sudharsan or Kane Williamson to open,” Aakash Chopra said.
Punjab Kings finisher Shahrukh Khan, who was signed for 9 crores and aggregated just 156 runs at a terrible average of 22.29 in 13 innings in IPL 2023 was released ahead of the auction. Shahrukh is a huge striker of the cricket ball who is comfortable against both pace and spin and might be an asset to the team.
They Are Slightly Light On The Faster Bowling – Aakash Chopra
Aakash Chopra believes that Gujarat Titans need to bolster their fast bowling attack, which appears to be lacking with the departures of Lockie Ferguson and Alzarri Joseph ahead of the auction and has highlighted a few players that may be available in the IPL auction in 2024.
“In fast bowling, they have Darshan Nalkande, Mohit Sharma, Mohammed Shami, and Joshua Little. They are slightly light on the faster bowling and you need bowlers who can move the ball around under lights in Gujarat. So they do need to shop for fast bowlers.”
“They released Lockie Ferguson a year ago and have let Alzarri Joseph also go now. A lot of new names will be available in the auction. If they want, they can pick anyone among Mitchell Starc, Lockie Ferguson, Josh Hazlewood, Ben Dwarshuis, Dilshan Madushanka, and Gerald Coetzee,” Aakash Chopra added.
In this scenario, Kane Williamson, David Miller, and Rashid Khan, together with either Noor Ahmad or a seamer, might be the four overseas players for Gujarat Titans in the playing XI, with them missing the quality all-rounder and their former skipper Hardik Pandya for the next season.
