IPL 2022 squad analysis: Gujarat Titans rope in Roy, Shami, Tewatia; few chinks remain

He, along with Shubhman Gill, forms a formidable opening pair. Moreover, they'll complement each other. Gill can play the anchor, and Roy, on the other hand, can attack.

Abhinav Manohar was a surprising but good pick on day one of the auction. He made his debut last year. Not a lot of numbers are available about him, and analyzing them at such a nascent stage wouldn't be fair. But still, in the four T20 matches played for Karnataka he has scored 162 runs with the highest score of 70 not out. Not to forget, he can bowl an occasional left-arm spin too.

This is where the Titans find themselves in a tough spot. Going by the picks they made at the very last round, it seems David Miller or Matthew Wade coupled with Vijay Shankar, Gurkeerat Singh Mann and Dominic Drakes will form the middle order.

Also Read: IPL Mega Auction 2022: Shreyas Iyer commands Rs 12.25 crore from KKR; here's how the other marquee players did

Hardik Pandya will essay the role of a finisher along with Rahul Tewatia. They missed out on two key players here in Krunal Pandya and Washington Sundar.

They bought Rahul Tewatia for Rs 9 crore but backed out of Krunal's bidding who ultimately went to Lucknow for 8.25 crores. The same happened with Washington Sundar as Sunrisers bagged him for 8.75 crores.

Coming out of the auction, the bowling for Titans looks like their strong point. The pace trio of Mohammed Shami, Alzaari Joseph, and Lockie Ferguson, coupled with the abilities of Rashid Khan, makes them a formidable attack. Add Hardik, Noor Ahmed, Rahul Tewatia, and Sai Kishore to the mix, and you have got variety as well. They also got Yash Dayal for Rs 3.2 crore. Dayal is a new ball bowler capable of swinging the ball both ways. He has played just 15 T20 matches and picked up 15 wickets at an economy of 7.21.

Considering their fragile middle order, it is surprising to see why the Titans didn't go all the way for Mitchell Marsh. The Australian all-rounder was coming into the auction on the back of an incredible performance in the T20 World Cup. He is also a quality option with the ball in hand.

What's even more surprising is that they did not even bid for Devon Conway. They were clearly in need of an international hard-hitting wicketkeeper. Srikar Bharat, an Indian wicket-keeping option, too, was let go off, without bidding.

All in all, there were a few hits but some miss too for Gujrat Titans at the IPL auction. On paper, Gujarat looks it needs more work but then in the past, such teams have rallied and done well too.