I don’t think they have plugged the hole that Hardik Pandya has left by any stretch of the imagination – Simon Doull on Gujarat Titans

Former New Zealand pacer Simon Doull feels Gujarat Titans were not able to plug the hole which was created after Hardik Pandya made a move to Mumbai Indians in an all-cash trade deal. Pandya led Gujarat Titans to glory in IPL 2022 and then took the franchise to the final of the tournament in IPL 2023. The right-hander delivered with both bat and ball and led from the front in the two seasons.

Meanwhile, GT was able to add players like Shahrukh Khan (INR 7.40 crores) Umesh Yadav (Rs 5.8 crore), Sushant Mishra (Rs 2.2 crore), Kartik Tyagi (Rs 60 lakh), Azmatullah Omarzai (Rs 50 lakh), Manav Suthar (Rs 20 lakh), Spencer Johnson (Rs 10 crore) and Robin Minz (Rs 3.6 crore) to their squad in IPL 2024 auction.

Reviewing the auction on Star Sports, Simon Doull said, “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 renowned commentator added that Azmatullah Omarzai and Spencer Johnson were good additions by Gujarat Titans. GT made a steal deal for Omarzai at INR 50 lakhs whereas they spent a huge amount of INR 10 crores for Johnson.

“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.”

On the other hand, former Australian all-rounder Tom Moody reckons GT tried to replace Hardik Pandya with the help of impact player rule as they have roped in Shahrukh Khan and Umesh Yadav.

“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.”

“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.”

GT SQUAD FOR IPL 2024

David Miller, Shubman Gill (c), Matthew Wade, Wriddhiman Saha, Kane Williamson, Abhinav Manohar, B. Sai Sudharsan, Darshan Nalkande, Vijay Shankar, Jayant Yadav, Rahul Tewatia, Mohammed Shami, Noor Ahmad, Sai Kishore, Rashid Khan, Joshua Little, Mohit Sharma, Azmatullah Omarzai, Umesh Yadav, Shahrukh Khan, Sushant Mishra, Kartik Tyagi, Manav Suthar, Spencer Johnson, Robin Minz.