Gujarat Titans had an impressive IPL 2026 season, barring a disappointing loss to the Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) in the final where they were denied their 2nd IPL trophy. GT’s performance in his edition of the tournament was almost like a replica of how they fared in 2025 – three to four batters scoring the maximum number of runs, while it was their overseas bowlers who tasted the maximum success. But, the highlight is yet another 700-run season for Sudharsan, another year where Shubman Gill did extremely well.
Having won 9 out of the 14 matches they played in the league stage of IPL 2026, GT were a force to be reckoned with. But RCB prove to be the better side in the knockout stages, having defeated them in Qualifier 1 and the IPL 2026 final. However, despite the final result not going in their favour, GT won’t mind their performance in the season, given that all units performed in good sync, with very little headaches for the team to solve next year.
What were GT’s biggest positives?
Well, GT’s biggest positives in IPL 2026 were Sai Sudharsan and Shubman Gill, who scored over 60% of the runs for the team in the season. Once again, GT were heavily reliant on their top-order to do the heavy-lifting for the side while the rest of the batters had very little role to play. Gill, GT’s captain, finished as the highest run-getter for the side in the season, having amassed 732 runs from 16 matches, at an average of 45.75 and slammed 6 fifties and one hundred.
Sudharsan, his opening partner, finished with 722 runs from 16 matches, at an average of 45.13. Unsurprisingly, Jos Buttler was the third leading run-getter for the franchise with 526 runs. But, the England batter was far from his best. An unexpected batter on the list of leading run-getters for the team in IPL 2026 was Washington Sundar. The middle-order batter, who didn’t get a lot of opportunities with the bat last year, made most of his promotion this year and amassed 377 runs, which includes 3 half-centuries.
But barring these top four batters, none of the others did any talking with the bat. Well, it won’t be fair to blame them, as these top four stars occupied the maximum amount of time out in the middle. Rahul Tewatia is the only other GT batter who managed to breach the triple-figure mark in the tournament, thanks to fighting 68-run knock against RCB in the Qualifier 1 which came in a losing cause.
Going forward, GT will have to eventually stop relying heavily on the top-order batters and expect others to step up and deliver as well. Else, it would be pretty much the case where a collapse early on the innings could end GT’s hopes of winning a match even before the halfway stage of the game.
| Player | Runs | Mat | Avg | SR |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Shubman Gill | 732 | 16 | 45.75 | 163.02 |
| Sai Sudharsan | 722 | 17 | 45.13 | 157.98 |
| Jos Buttler | 526 | 17 | 37.57 | 152.46 |
| Washington Sundar | 377 | 17 | 37.70 | 150.19 |
| Rahul Tewatia | 190 | 16 | 27.14 | 143.93 |
Rabada shines, Rashid Khan loses charm
Apart from the trio of Gill-Sudharsan-Buttler, it was Kagiso Rabada who emerged as the Most Valuable Player (MVP) for GT. The South African pacer justified his price tag of Rs 10.75 crore, as he emerged as the leading wicket-taker of the tournament with 29 scalps to his name. He was also the most overworked GT bowler, having bowled 64.4 overs in the season. He conceded just 626 runs, averaged 21.58 and maintained an economy rate of 9.68. Rabada was the spearhead of GT’s pace attack which comprised of accomplished names like Mohammed Siraj, Prasidh Krishna and Jason Holder.
GT’s second best bowler in IPL 2026 was Rashid Khan, who finished the season with 21 wickets to his name. Although he did well to bounce back after a miserable performance in 2025, the Afghanistan spinner wasn’t as lethal as his reputation claims. Siraj (19 wickets), Holder (17 wickets) and Krishna (16 wickets) were the other top bowlers for the franchise.
| Player | Wkts | Mat | Ov | Runs | Avg | Econ |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kagiso Rabada | 29 | 17 | 64.4 | 626 | 21.58 | 9.68 |
| Rashid Khan | 21 | 17 | 56.5 | 516 | 24.57 | 9.07 |
| Mohammed Siraj | 19 | 17 | 62.0 | 562 | 29.57 | 9.06 |
| Jason Holder | 17 | 11 | 38.2 | 290 | 17.05 | 7.56 |
| Prasidh Krishna | 16 | 12 | 39.0 | 407 | 25.43 | 10.43 |
Apart from Rashid, no other GT spinner managed to create an impact in IPL 2026. After a phenomenal season in 2025, Sai Kishore was used in just 3 matches where he managed to pick up just 1 wicket. Sundar, who was underutilized with the ball, bowled just 9.1 overs in which he picked up 1 scalp.
GT results in IPL 2026
| Pos | Team | P | W | L | NR | NRR | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2 | GT | 14 | 9 | 5 | 0 | 0.695 | 18 |
| Opposition | Result |
|---|---|
| PBKS | Lost by 3 wkts |
| RR | Lost by 6 runs |
| DC | Won by 1 run |
| LSG | Won by 7 wkts |
| KKR | Won by 5 wkts |
| MI | Lost by 99 runs |
| RCB | Lost by 5 wkts |
| CSK | Won by 8 wkts |
| RCB | Won by 4 wkts |
| PBKS | Won by 4 wkts |
| RR | Won by 77 runs |
| SRH | Won by 82 runs |
| KKR | Lost by 29 runs |
| CSK | Won by 89 runs |
| RCB | Lost by 92 runs |
| RR | Won by 7 wkts |
| RCB | Lost by 5 wkts |
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