Despite scoring 199 runs in the Indian Premier League 2024, Gujarat Titans lost to Punjab Kings. Although the Kings struggled at one stage, Shashank Singh (61 not out) and Ashutosh Sharma (31) staged a brilliant comeback and took their team to a 3-wicket victory. Former players felt that Gujarat was 10-15 runs short, considering the flat track at the Narendra Modi Stadium.
Sanjay Manjrekar stated that the head coach of GT, Ashish Nehta, made tactical errors that resulted in their loss against Punjab. He emphasized that including Kane Williamson in the Playing Xi was a wrong move:
“Ashish Nehra, who is always spot on with his moves, made tactical errors in the game. Gujarat had several batters who bat in Kane Williamson’s mode in the T20 format. Instead of the New Zealand player, the Titans should have gone with Shahrukh Khan and also Abhinav Manohar in the playing XI. These two are explosive batters and can hit the ball miles away. When you have such Indian talent in the squad, you should play them to score a few extra runs.”
Shahrukh was a member of the Punjab Kings last season but was not part of the team. He is known for his aggressive style of cricket and has won numerous domestic matches for Tamil Nadu. Gujarat purchased him for INR 7.4 crore. The Titans paid INR 2.6 crore for Abhinav.
Gujarat has won two and lost two games in the 17th season of the league.