Gujarat Titans: The IPL's Most Efficient New Franchise
How Gujarat Titans won back-to-back IPL finals (winning 2022, losing 2023) in their first two seasons — Hardik Pandya's captaincy, Shubman Gill's batting, and what made them so effective so fast.
The New Franchises of 2022
The 2022 IPL expanded from 8 to 10 teams, adding Gujarat Titans (based in Ahmedabad, home ground: Narendra Modi Stadium, capacity 132,000 — the world's largest cricket stadium) and Lucknow Super Giants. Both new franchises were given the option to select three 'draft picks' before the auction, allowing them to build a core quickly. Gujarat Titans selected Hardik Pandya (captain, all-rounder), Mohammed Shami (pace), and Shubman Gill (opener). That three-player core immediately gave GT a franchise that could compete for the title — a pace bowling captain, a world-class fast bowler, and a technically excellent opening batsman.
2022: IPL Champions in Their First Season
Gujarat Titans won the 2022 IPL in their debut season — only the second franchise (after Rajasthan Royals in 2008) to win in year one. They defeated Rajasthan Royals in the final by 7 wickets. Their winning formula was clear: Mohammed Shami took wickets with the new ball and at the death; Rashid Khan (acquired through the draft) controlled the middle overs; Hardik Pandya contributed with both bat and ball in key moments; Shubman Gill played with steady technical quality. The system was built around defined roles rather than individual brilliance — the IPL's version of team cricket.
2023: Runners-Up in Year Two
In 2023, with Hardik Pandya absent (returning to Mumbai Indians as captain after relinquishing the GT captaincy), GT reached the final again under Gill's captaincy. They lost to CSK by 5 wickets in the final at Ahmedabad — Shubman Gill's century in the final was the individual performance of the tournament, but CSK's batting (Devon Conway, Ajinkya Rahane) completed the chase. Back-to-back finals appearances in a franchise's first two seasons is unprecedented in IPL history. The performance suggested GT's structure — disciplined bowling, reliable batting anchors, sensible captain rotation — was genuinely world-class franchise management.
Shubman Gill's Development
GT's most important long-term contribution to Indian cricket may be Shubman Gill's development. Gill — who had impressed in Test cricket for India and shown T20 potential — found his best form at GT: the structure, the leadership role in year 3, and the security of being the franchise's number-one batting asset all contributed. His 890 runs in 2023 (including 4 hundreds) was the highest run-tally by any batsman in a single IPL season since Kohli's 973 in 2016. The GT experience transformed him from a promising international to a franchise-defining superstar, which subsequently translated into his international T20 form.
What GT Showed Cricket
GT's success story has two lessons for franchise cricket. First: draft pick quality matters more than auction spending. GT's three draft picks — Pandya, Shami, Rashid (later), Gill — would have cost far more at open auction than the draft mechanism allowed. Building a strong core early and filling with value-for-money auction additions is more efficient than chasing star players at premium prices. Second: defined roles and consistent team culture beat star-driven chaos. GT's 2022 title team had no player more individually explosive than Gayle, de Villiers, or Kohli in other franchises' squads — but they won because each player knew exactly their function and delivered it reliably.