Ahmedabad based IPL Team to be called as ‘Gujarat Titans’.
The new Ahmedabad-based franchise of the Indian Premier League (IPL), on Wednesday announced their official name and they will be called as the ‘Gujarat Titans.’ The team will be led by Indian all-rounder and former Mumbai Indians player Hardik Pandya.
The franchise will be one of two new teams entering the tournament from the 2022 season as the IPL expands to a ten-team competition. The franchise was purchased by CVC Capital Partners for a whopping amount of Rs 5625 Crore.
“The franchise is inspired by the opportunity to represent and build on this deep cricketing heritage, as well as build on its future success on the pitch,” said the franchise in a statement.
Siddharth Patel, a representative of the franchise, said, “We want this group to achieve great things for Gujarat and its many passionate fans, which is why we have chosen the name Titans.”
The Titans’ three pre-auction picks were the former Mumbai Indians player Hardik Pandya, who cost Rs 15 Crore and will lead the team. The other two players the team has bought are star Afghanistan leg-spinner Rashid Khan for Rs 15 crore and Indian batter Shubman Gill for Rs 8 crore. Titans will have INR 52 crore in their purse for the IPL 2022 mega auction.
Read More: IPL 2022: Hardik Pandya, Rashid Khan, Shubman Gill to play for Ahmedabad
Pandya has been an integral part of Mumbai Indians since 2015 and it will be the first time since making his IPL debut that he will not play for the four-time IPL winning team. The same goes with Rashid Khan and Shubman Gill, who have only played for Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) and Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR), respectively in the league so far.
Former Indian pacer Ashish Nehra will be their head coach while World Cup-winning coach Gary Kirsten has been appointed as team mentor and batting coach. Former England player Vikram Solanki has been appointed their director of cricket.
Gary Kirsten, talking about the Gujarat Titans’ captain, earlier said that Pandya will be motivated to show what he is capable of doing as a leader.
“I am looking forward to working with Hardik as a young and new captain. I think he will be really motivated to come in and make a plan and show what he is capable of at this level of the game as a leader. He’s a great player. What I have heard is that he is really keen to get into the mix and get involved,” Kirsten had said on Star Sports show ‘IPL Selection Day’.
Alongside Ahmedabad, Lucknow Super Giants is another addition to the Indian Premier League. Sanjiv Goenka’s RPSG group bought it for Rs 7090 Crore in October last year. Their three picks ahead of the mega-auction were KL Rahul who will lead the team, Australian all-rounder Marcus Stoinis and Indian uncapped spinner Ravi Bishnoi.
Indian Premier League 2022 is set to begin on March 27.
Read More: IPL 2022: Lucknow ropes in KL Rahul as captain; Marcus Stoinis, Ravi Bishnoi picked as well
