IPL 2022: Gujarat Titians captain Hardik Pandya can bring in all-rounder Vijay Shankar in pace of Pradeep Sangwan to bolster batting depth for the game against Mumbai Indians
League leaders Gujarat Titans (GT) will look to make changes to their line-up after a rare hiccup against Punjab Kings (PBKS) in their almost spotless Indian Premier League (IPL) 2022 campaign so far. GT went down against PBKS by eight wickets as they succumbed to their second defeat this season. Skipper Hardik will aim to bat deep this time around considering their below-par performance with the bat in their previous game. All-rounder Vijay Shankar could make a comeback to the final XI in pace of left-arm pacer Pradeep Sangwan.
Here’s how GT can line-up to face MI:
Wriddhiman Saha: The wicketkeeper-batter has been in top form ever since he was given the mantle of opening the batting with Shubman Gill. However, the wicket-keeper batter will have to continue the good work in order to maintain his playing spot in a competitive GT squad.
Shubman Gill: The youngster’s topsy-turvy form has been a cause of concern for GT. The batter has so far scored 269 runs in 10 games with two fifties in the process.
Sai Sudharsan: He garnered a lot of praise after a gutsy fifty in the last game and will aim for a repeat performance against MI.
Hardik Pandya: He has been the backbone of the side. His flexibility with the bat has helped the team in a number of ways. Apart from handling the pressure situations of seeing off early overs after the fall of quick wickets, the batter has also finished off in style with big shots.
David Miller: The South African continues to live up to the finisher’s role ever since being given a lengthy run in the playing XI. His ability to bat with the lower order has been a big plus for the team.
Rahul Tewatia: He had a rare failure vs PBKS where he failed to get going. His struggle with the bat included 11 runs off 13 balls.
Rashid Khan: The leg-spinner has been pretty impressive with the ball so far but the team would definitely want more from Rashid, the batter. He would like to put aside the recent failure vs PBKS (golden duck) and start fresh.
Vijay Shankar: The all-rounder could replace Sangwan, who had a torrid time in the two overs he bowled against PBKS. The latter conceded 23 runs in 12 balls and this could force Pandya to bring in Shankar.
Alzarri Joseph: Joseph failed to impress with the ball and conceded 25 runs in 18 balls vs PBKS. The pacer would like to get into the wickets column in the coming matches.
Lockie Ferguson: Ferguson’s pace has troubled even the best of batters and the fast bowler can surely aim to get into the wickets against a struggling MI batting line-up. The Kiwi pacer has regularly clocked 150 kmph this season.
Mohammed Shami: Although Shami started well vs PBKS, he was taken to the cleaners by Liam Livingstone. But, given the abilities that he possess, one can expect him to bounce back vs MI.