How Gujarat Titans made sense of unusual line-up shuffle to harness the best out of top three in IPL 2025 | Ipl News

From the time they came into the IPL fold, Gujarat Titans have been largely unpredictable. From looking at Hardik Pandya to captain the side to making him bat at No 4 and bringing on Mohit Sharma out of nowhere, they have done it all. Yet this season, on the back of having a batting unit that is sans a reliable middle-order batsman, there was this pertinent question as to how they will overcome their over reliance on the top-order which in itself comes with its own caveats.In captain Shubman Gill and B Sai Sudharsan, they have a pair of openers, who are not explosive. If one of them drops down to No 3, there is a strong chance of them getting struck to shift gears in the middle-overs. So they paired them together, promoting Sudharsan up the order instead of the usual No 3 role he has donned in the past.
It meant, one of the best T20 openers of this era Jos Buttler – known to provide fireworks at the top– dropped down to No 3. It is also worth mentioning that when Buttler made this switch, it came at his lowest point. He had arrived on the back of a few horrid months as the captain of England’s white-ball side. Beyond the three, Gujarat have slotted Guyanese Sherfane Rutherford, who last played in the IPL in 2022 and no noticeable performance to show. Beyond the four, all that Gujarat have is M Shahrukh Khan, Rahul Tewatia, Washington Sundar and Rashid Khan who all are versatile, and role-specific players with no fixed spot.
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This batting line-up may not instil fear, but it is incredibly effective. As Gujarat Titans go into their next league match against Kolkata Knight Riders at the Eden Gardens on Monday, two of their top three are among the top four run-getters this season (prior to MI vs CSK fixture).
Gill isn’t in the top, but with 215 runs in seven outings, he has done his part. The best part of it all is Gujarat have done all of it without any of them having to change their natural game. Out of the 1,352 runs scored Gujarat so far, 895 has been scored the trio alone.
CSK model
It is no secret that Ashish Nehra, their head coach, is hugely influenced the model of Chennai Super Kings, whom he had played for. In a season where Chennai are facing intense spotlight for their age-old template of preferring reliable openers at the start, Gujarat are finding success with a similar style.

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With a strike-rate of 137.25 and 134.35, Gill and Sudharsan aren’t explosive any means, but are batsmen who are capable of inflicting enough damage with minimum fuss. And once they settle, are capable of batting through the course of the innings picking pace. And it also happens to be a role that comes natural to them, where they can just go about finding boundaries and sixes without employing a high-risk approach. So far in the tournament, no batsman has hit more boundaries than Sai Sudharsan’s 36, with Buttler coming second with 32.
choosing to adopt an anchor role, the trio have provided Gujarat the platform, which their versatile batting unit has utilised. In their seven matches so far, only four – Gill, Sai Sudharsan, Buttler and Rutherford – have batted in all, with Tewatia having five innings to his name followed Shahrukh who has four. If it was the top-order that brought them success last season for Kolkata, this season Gujarat are embracing a similar approach, but in a contrasting style. The best part is, Gujarat and Nehra have done it fielding just two overseas players in the XI with Rutherford mostly slotted as the Impact Player.Story continues below this ad
It also gives its rounded-attack the surety it needs. With two quality spinners in Rashid and R Sai Kishore and a strong pace attack, Gujarat aren’t fretting when it comes to batting first or chasing. The 180/6 against Lucknow Super Giants is the lowest they have made batting first as they have crossed 200 thrice to go with one 196/8.
On Monday, they will face Kolkata for only the fourth time since they came into the IPL in 2022. And it will be an even contest, for if batting is Gujarat’s strong point, bowling has been Kolkata’s go-to-card. Their economy rate of 8.30 is the lowest among all teams with Sunil Narine and Varun Chakaravarthy around, it makes for a fascinating contest in what would be another ideal T20 conditions at Eden Gardens.