Former Indian cricketer Aakash Chopra was surprised by Gujarat Titans’ (GT) decisions at the IPL 2024 auction after the one-time champs had a fairly decent day at the event. Having traded Hardik Pandya to Mumbai Indians for Rs 15 cr, GT entered the auction has the team with the highest puse (Rs 38.15 cr). However, the team barely made heavy purchases, forcing Chopra to question the surprising strategy.
Chopra surprised by GT’s inability to secure first-choice picks
In his latest video on YouTube, Chopra pointed out that GT went into the auction as the most favourable side, having just 8 slots to fill and Rs 38.15 cr in their purse. The former cricketer believes that GT did not manage to secure their first-choice picks at the IPL auction, citing the team’s desicion to pull out after an intense bidding war for Mitchell Starc and Harshal Patel.
“I was surprised by the fact that they went very far (in the bidding war) for Harshal Patel, then they pulled out. They went the distance with Mitchell Starc as well and again pulled out. Somehow, you felt that they couldn’t manage to get their first-choice picks. And only they themselves are responsible for this because they could have spent the money as they had it. However, they decided that they did not want to pay the player so much,” Aakash Chopra said.
GT at IPL 2024 auction
The key acquisitions for the Titans include:
- Spencer Johnson (INR 10 crore): The big-ticket purchase adds firepower to the pace attack.
- Shahrukh Khan (INR 7.4 crore): The dynamic finisher further strengthens the team’s batting prowess.
- Umesh Yadav (INR 5.8 crore): Pace reinforcement for Mohammed Shami, providing depth to the fast-bowling department.
- Robin Minz (INR 3.6 crore), Sushant Mishra (INR 2.2 crore), Kartik Tyagi (INR 60 lakh), Azmatullah Omarzai (INR 50 lakh): Young talents who add depth and variety to the squad.
