Many had doubted Gujarat Titans ahead of the IPL 2022. However, the Hardik Pandya-led side shut all their detractors with a debut season to remember.
They were the first team to qualify for the playoffs and finished at the top of the table with 10 wins in 14 league matches. They hammered Rajasthan Royals in the Qualifier 1 and then in the final to clinch their maiden IPL trophy, that too in their debut season.
Despite having a blockbuster tournament, there are areas of improvement when it comes to individual players for Gujarat Titans. A few are ageing, while a few have been out of form. Prior to the IPL 2023 auction in December, the Titans will have an opportunity to trade away some of their players for either other players or to free up purse.
Here are 3 players Gujarat Titans might trade away to other teams in the IPL 2023 trading window:
Gurkeerat Singh Mann
Gurkeerat Singh Mann has been in the IPL teams since 2012, and the dearth of quality all-rounders in the country also got him 3 ODIs in 2016. However, the Punjab all-rounder has failed to live up to the expectations. And so much that when Vijay Shankar was dropped from the Titans’ eleven, they chose to tweak their side’s balance instead of playing Gurkeerat.
With Shankar, Tewatia, and Kishore the clearly preferred all-rounders, Gurkeerat Mann could well be on his way out of the Titans. His all-round characteristic might attract another franchise that would want to trade him in.
Varun Aaron
Once expected to become a pace sensation, Varun Aaron couldn’t get his career going forward due to frequent injuries and the consequent lack of form. 32-year-old Aaron bowled 5 overs in IPL 2022 for GT in which he was smashed for 52 runs.
He hasn’t played any domestic match after the IPL yet, and it wouldn’t be surprising at all if Gujarat trade him off to another franchise that’d want an Indian pacer given the champions have a terrific pace attack already.
Pradeep Sangwan
With the likes of Shami, Joseph, Pandya, Dayal, Nalkande and Ferguson, Gujarat’s pace attack is so strong and deep that they could afford to trade away two of their pacers in Aaron and Sangwan.
31-year-old Sangwan, who made his IPL debut back in 2008 but has played only 42 IPL games so far, has often been shown trust by franchises, however, he’s been disappointing most times. Like Aaron, Sangwan too hasn’t got any domestic match under his belt after the IPL.
While his left-arm angle and adeptness in bowling well only with the new ball may seduce another franchise, the Titans perhaps won’t mind trading him off away from their squad to make space for another player.
