Skipper Shreyas Iyer will lean on his captaincy credentials as he looks to turn around the fortunes of perennial underperformers Punjab Kings in this IPL, opening the season with a clash against Gujarat Titans in Ahmedabad on Tuesday.
Iyer enjoyed huge success leading Kolkata Knight Riders to the IPL title last year, four years after guiding Delhi Capitals to the 2020 IPL final, and now faces the challenge of ending Punjab's 18-year-long wait for their maiden IPL title.
The Punjab team reached the semifinals in 2018 and made it to the final once in 2014, but despite numerous squad changes and leadership shifts, they have failed to break into the top 5 in the last four editions, even after rebranding to Punjab Kings from Kings XI Punjab.
However, with Iyer at the helm, Punjab has a captain with proven leadership credentials. He will also reunite with coach Ricky Ponting at Punjab, providing the ideal platform to make a fresh start.
On the other hand, Shubman Gill, who is the vice-captain of India's ODI team, endured a tough season as GT captain, with the team finishing in 8th spot in 2024 after a title win and runner-up finishes in 2022 and 2023 under Hardik Pandya.
Both Gill and Iyer are in great form, having played crucial roles in India's Champions Trophy-winning campaign in Dubai earlier this month.
Iyer finished as India's top run-scorer in the Champions Trophy with 243 runs in five games, while Gill also struck a century in the opening match against Bangladesh and contributed significantly to India's triumph.
As for team dynamics, GT's batting strength will rely on a solid start from Gill and England's wicketkeeper-batter Jos Buttler, who will be looking to bounce back from recent poor form.
The middle-order will be in the hands of West Indian Sherfane Rutherford, Sai Sudharsan, and Masood Shahrukh Khan, with all-rounders Rashid Khan, Rahul Tewatia, Glenn Phillips, Washington Sundar, and Mahipal Lomror expected to contribute.
On the bowling front, Mohammed Siraj will look to make a big impact and return to the national reckoning after missing out of the Champions Trophy, while Kagiso Rabada, Prasidh Krishna, South African Gerald Coetzee, and veteran Ishant Sharma will provide added firepower to GT's pace attack.
GT's spin department will be led by Rashid Khan with left-arm spinner Sai Kishore providing valuable support.
Punjab Kings, on the other hand, will depend on skipper Iyer, Josh Inglis, Prabhsimran Singh, Marcus Stoinis, and Glenn Maxwell for their batting. The Punjab outfit also boasts a strong line-up of all-rounders in Azmatullah Omarzai, Stoinis, Marco Jansen, Shahank Singh, and Musheer Khan.
The pace bowling department will be led by Arshdeep Singh, who will be itching to get back in action after not getting a game in the Champions trophy. He will have Lockie Ferguson, Kuldeep Sen, and Yash Thakur in the pace unit, while leg-spinner Yuzvendra Chahal and left-arm spinner Harpreet Brar will hope for a successful season.
Teams (from):
Gujarat Giants: Shubman Gill (c), Anuj Rawat, Jos Buttler, Kumar Kushagra, Sherfane Rutherford, Sai Sudharsan, M Shahrukh Khan, Rashid Khan, Karim Janat, Mahipal Lomror, Glenn Phillips, Nishant Sindhu, Manav Suthar, Rahul Tewatia, Washington Sundar, Arshad Khan, Gerald Coetzee, Gurnoor Brar, Kulwant Khejroliya, Mohammed Siraj, Prasidh Krishna, Kagiso Rabada, Sai Kishore, Ishant Sharma, Jayant Yadav.
Punjab Kings: Shreyas Iyer (c), Priyansh Arya, Pyla Avinash, Harnoor Singh, Josh Inglis, Prabhsimran Singh, Vishnu Vinod, Nehal Wadhera, Azmatullah Omarzai, Aaron Hardie, Marco Jansen, Glenn Maxwell, Musheer Khan, Shashank Singh, Marcus Stoinis, Suryansh Shedge, Arshdeep Singh, Xavier Bartlett, Yuzvendra Chahal, Praveen Dubey, Lockie Ferguson, Harpreet Brar, Kuldeep Sen, Vijaykumar Vyshak, Yash Thakur.
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