3 major issues plaguing GT in IPL 2024 after loss to LSG

Gujarat Titans (GT), one of the most successful teams in the last two seasons of the Indian Premier League (IPL), are off to an average start in 2024.

The Titans have secured only two victories in five games, and are positioned seventh in the points table. They overcame the challenge of Mumbai Indians and Sunrisers Hyderabad, but failed to show up against Chennai Super Kings, Punjab Kings and Lucknow Super Giants.

In their recent outing on Sunday, GT restricted the Giants to 163, with Umesh Yadav and Darshan Nalkande taking two wickets. Chasing down the score, they were off to a good start with over 50 runs in the powerplay overs. However, the batting line-up lost the plot as they were wrapped up on 130, and lost by 33 runs.

On that note, let's take a look at three key issues that are hurting the Titans' chances in IPL 2024.

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1) Mohammed Shami's absence; Rashid Khan's bad form

There is no doubt that Mohit Sharma did well to secure figures of 2/32 and 3/25 and help GT secure victories against Mumbai and Hyderabad, respectively. However, his inconsistency has resulted in the Titans losing the other three games.

On the other hand, Umesh Yadav has picked up six wickets at an expensive economy of 10.21. Moreover, Rashid Khan has scalped only five wickets in as many games and has looked ineffective, contrary to his performances in the previous seasons.

Certainly, Mohammed Shami's absence is hurting the team in the powerplay as well as death overs. In the last two seasons, the right-arm pacer picked up 48 wickets, winning the Purple Cap (28 wickets) in 2023. His ability to pick up wickets in crunch moments helped GT reach the finals on both occasions (lifting the title in 2022).

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2) Inexperienced leader

After Hardik Pandya was traded to Mumbai Indians ahead of the IPL 2024 auction, Gujarat Titans handed over the captaincy to Shubman Gill. Interestingly, the top-order batter didn't have any prior leadership experience, even in domestic cricket.

In the T20 format, a tactical mindset is required to make quick decisions, and it comes with experience. So far, Gill has not shown an aggressive mindset with his bowling changes and team selection.

Middle-order batter Abhinav Manohar and Irish pacer Joshua Little, who are known for their aggressive mindset, are still warming the bench after five games.

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3) Lack of explosive batters

With the departure of Pandya, GT needed a solid middle-order batter, who packs a solid punch with the bat. Skipper Shubman Gill generally plays the role of an anchor, however, the other batters like Sai Sudharsan, Kane Williamson, and Vijay Shankar aren't T20 specialists. The team needs an X-factor, who will help them score runs at a strike rate of around 200 in the middle overs.

Furthermore, David Miller has been inconsistent and missed GT's last two games, which puts pressure on Rahul Tewatia. Their struggles with the bat were witnessed in the game against the Giants, as they were bundled out for 130.

Overall, the batting line-up needs to have positive intent to pave the way for the Titans to win more games.