Gujarat Titans
At a Glance
| IPL Titles | 1 (2022 — debut season title) |
| Captain | Shubman Gill |
| Head Coach | Ashish Nehra | Batting Coach: Matthew Hayden (NEW) |
| Home Ground | Narendra Modi Stadium, Ahmedabad (Capacity: 132,000 — World’s Largest Cricket Stadium) |
| Owner | Torrent Group (67%) + CVC Capital Partners (33%) — Purchased for ₹5,625 crore |
| Colors | Navy Blue and Gold |
| Founded | 2021 | First IPL season: 2022 |
| 2025 Finish | 4th — Qualified for playoffs, eliminated at Eliminator stage |
The Big Picture
Two seasons. Two finals. A debut title. Gujarat Titans burst onto the IPL scene in 2022 like a team that had been doing this for decades — winning the tournament in their very first year of existence, then going straight back to the final in 2023. The franchise’s all-time win percentage of 62.2% is the highest of any team in IPL history. In IPL 2026, they field both the 2025 Orange Cap winner (Sai Sudharsan) and the Purple Cap winner (Prasidh Krishna), a Shubman Gill who is growing into one of cricket’s finest captains, and the legendary Rashid Khan as their ace. If GT are not title favourites, they are very close.
The Story So Far: History and Heritage
Gujarat Titans were one of two new franchises introduced in 2021 alongside Lucknow Super Giants, with CVC Capital Partners acquiring the franchise for ₹5,625 crore. In February 2025, Torrent Group acquired a 67% majority stake, with CVC retaining 33%. Their mountain-peak logo and “Aava De” anthem quickly built a strong fanbase in a state not previously associated with an IPL franchise.
The 2022 debut season is one of cricket’s great stories. Under Hardik Pandya’s leadership and Ashish Nehra’s coaching, a squad assembled from the retention pool and auction produced a relentless campaign — topping the league table, winning their playoff games, and claiming the title at a packed Narendra Modi Stadium. 104,859 spectators attended that final — the largest crowd in IPL history. They returned to the final in 2023, losing to CSK in a last-ball thriller.
Then Hardik Pandya departed for MI, and the 2024 season produced GT’s worst result — 8th place. But 2025’s recovery to 4th place showed the franchise’s resilience. Sai Sudharsan’s Orange Cap (759 runs, average 54.9, strike rate 156) and Prasidh Krishna’s Purple Cap (25 wickets) were the individual standouts.
Home Advantage: Venue Intelligence
The Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad is simply the world’s largest cricket ground — 132,000 seats, 76 corporate boxes, a 55-room clubhouse, and parking for 3,000 cars. Rebuilt between 2015 and 2020 at a cost of ₹800 crore, it is an engineering marvel. The sheer scale can feel imposing to visiting teams. The pitch favours batting in the first innings, slowing significantly later as it takes spin — making first-innings batting critical and large straight boundaries rewarding technique over raw power.
The stadium’s history includes both IPL finals from 2022 and 2023, the 2025 IPL final, and the 2026 T20 World Cup final — where India claimed their third T20 World Cup title. It is the epicentre of Indian cricket at its grandest scale.
IPL 2026 Squad
Captain: Shubman Gill
Head Coach: Ashish Nehra | Batting Coach: Matthew Hayden (NEW)
Players to Watch in IPL 2026
Sai Sudharsan — The 2025 Orange Cap winner with 759 runs at a strike rate of 156. At just 23, Sudharsan is evolving into one of India’s finest T20 batters — a technically excellent player who can shift gears at will.
Rashid Khan — T20 cricket’s finest leg-spinner over the past decade. His economy, ability to take wickets at crucial moments, and batting useful lower-order runs make him GT’s single most valuable player.
Prasidh Krishna — The 2025 Purple Cap holder with 25 wickets. His ability to extract bounce and swing from any surface makes him GT’s cornerstone quick, and an increasingly important international-level performer.
Kagiso Rabada — One of the fastest, most skilled pace bowlers in the world. Rabada’s new-ball aggression and death-over precision give GT an overseas pace weapon of the highest order.
Strengths and Weaknesses
Strengths
- GT’s historical win percentage of 62.2% is the highest in IPL history — their winning culture and competitive DNA are proven across 4 seasons.
- Both the 2025 Orange Cap (Sudharsan) and Purple Cap (Prasidh) winners are in GT’s squad — an extraordinary combination of individual excellence.
- Rashid Khan remains the gold standard for leg-spin in T20 cricket — his presence alone changes opposition batting strategies.
- The Rabada-Siraj-Prasidh pace combination is among the most high-quality seam attacks assembled by any IPL franchise.
- Matthew Hayden’s appointment as batting coach brings legendary IPL and international experience to a batting unit that already has Sai Sudharsan, Buttler, and Gill.
Weaknesses
- The Indian middle-order depth beyond Gill, Sudharsan, Tewatia, and Shahrukh Khan is untested at the highest level.
- Jason Holder’s T20 impact can be inconsistent — his pace at 135-140 kph is manageable for IPL batters, and his effectiveness depends heavily on pitch conditions.
- GT were unable to fill their eighth overseas slot at auction, leaving them one selection short of maximum overseas flexibility.
- The Narendra Modi Stadium’s enormous size can reduce home advantage in league games — smaller crowds for non-marquee matches create a less electric atmosphere.
The Key Battle
Shubman Gill’s captaincy maturation is GT’s defining narrative. After an 8th-place finish in 2024 following Pandya’s departure, Gill’s leadership in 2025 — recovering to 4th place and the playoffs — showed genuine growth. Sustaining that trajectory, keeping a squad with world-class overseas players cohesive across a long season, and making the right calls in playoff pressure moments will determine whether GT’s winning DNA produces another title.
Our Verdict: How Far Can They Go?
GT’s winning culture, the Rashid-Rabada-Prasidh bowling spine, Sudharsan’s batting form, and the addition of Matthew Hayden’s mentorship make them one of the strongest squads in the competition. Their historical DNA says: when GT are settled and focused, they win tournaments.