Gujarat Titans didn’t have much money to spend at the auction. They kept most players from last season already. The team only needed to fill a few empty spots this time.
GT went into the mini auction with tight pockets. Their strategy was simple – keep the core group together. Only specific positions needed attention for IPL 2026.
Middle Order Gets Some Backup
Jason Holder became GT’s most expensive buy at Rs 7 crore. The West Indian all-rounder adds depth to their middle order. He’s played enough IPL cricket to know what works here.
Tom Banton joined the squad for Rs 2 crore during round three. The English batter recently started batting lower down the order. His hitting ability could come in handy in tight situations for IPL 2026.
Neither of these guys will start every match probably. But having quality options on the bench never hurts any team. GT learned this lesson from previous seasons clearly.
Fast Bowlers Added as Cover
GT picked three new pace bowlers at the auction. Ashok Sharma and Prithvi Raj are both uncapped Indian players. Luke Wood from England completes their fast bowling additions.
Wood played for the Mumbai Indians before joining the Gujarat Titans now. He bowls left-arm pace and can bat a bit too. These three will mostly warm the bench though for IPL 2026.
GT already has strong pace options from last year. The new guys serve as backup if injuries happen. Smart teams always plan for worst-case scenarios like this.
Gujarat Titans’ Strongest Playing 11 Stays Similar
Shubman Gill opens the batting like always. Sai Sudharsan partners with him at the top again. Jos Buttler walks in at number three for IPL 2026.
| Player | Role / Notes |
|---|---|
| Shubman Gill (C) | Batter (Captain) |
| B Sai Sudharsan | Batter |
| Jos Buttler (WK) | Wicketkeeper-Batter |
| Washington Sundar | All-rounder / Spin |
| Glenn Phillips | WK/Finisher |
| Jason Holder | All-rounder |
| Rahul Tewatia | All-rounder / Finisher |
| Rashid Khan | Leg-spin / All-round option |
| R Sai Kishore | Left-arm Spin |
| Prasidh Krishna/ Kagiso Rabada | Pace Bowler |
| Mohammed Siraj | Pace Bowler |
The top three worked well enough last season. Why fix something that isn’t broken? Washington Sundar handles a big responsibility in the middle order now.
Glenn Phillips finally gets consistent chances this year. GT didn’t use him much during the 2024 season. He got injured this year which didn’t help matters.
The Gujarat Titans’ strongest playing 11 looks almost identical to last time. Continuity matters a lot in T20 cricket tournaments. Familiar combinations win you close games more often than experiments do.
