GT in 2026: Atypical, consistent and only a step short

Season at a glance: Second on the points table and eventually runners-up, Gujarat Titans were outmatched twice by RCB in the Playoffs. Yet, they matched RCB in consistency across a tournament where most other teams endured sharp highs and lows.

Consistency has been the hallmark of the Titans ever since they entered the league in 2022 and won it in the first go. Just like the last two seasons, the headliners were Shubman Gill and Sai Sudharsan, ranked second and third on the Orange Cap list. Sudharsan hit eight fifties (the most by anyone), Gill hit six, with a century apiece for both. Just one step below them was Jos Buttler, with four fifties.

It wasn't just a two-man show: Titans were also statistically the best bowling attack of the season, led by Kagiso Rabada (Purple Cap winner) and Mohammed Siraj, who ensured early dents with the new ball. Rashid Khan returned to his best after an off-colour last season, while Jason Holder's inclusion proved to be a masterstroke. The only concern was Titans being looked at as a "template" team: in 210+ chases since 2025, they had lost seven out of seven, until they broke that jinx in Qualifier 2. The batting lineup, though, didn't turn up for the ultimate clash.

Player of the season: Kagiso Rabada

A Powerplay bruiser, Rabada took 20 wickets in Overs 1-6 alone, ending the season with more wickets than his last three IPL seasons combined. Aside from the Purple Cap, Rabada also bowled the joint-most dots (172). He took a three-for five times, and was particularly threatening on GT's home ground, not going wicketless in eight games there. Unfortunately for him, he ran into a red-hot Kohli in the final.

A stat that adds up: GT bowlers took the most wickets combined this season (118), making them the best bowling side of the competition on multiple counts. They had the best average (25.67), best dot-ball percentage (39.9), joint-most four-fors (three), and best strike-rate (16.2).

A mini auction pick that…

Looked a million bucks: Jason Holder hadn't played an IPL game for two seasons when he was picked for INR 7 Cr by the Titans. He had been taking wickets in bucketloads across T20 competitions elsewhere and carried that form into his comeback IPL season. The balance of the side turned drastically when Holder was brought in, controlling the middle overs with 17 wickets and an economy of under eight.

Didn't work out: Aside from Holder, GT got four players at the auction, but only Ashok Sharma got game time, briefly turning heads with his raw pace. But his 150kph thunderbolts vanished six games in. They also splurged INR 2 Cr on Tom Banton, who missed the season due to a finger injury.

Best match of the season: Trampled by RCB in Qualifier 1, GT needed a quick turnaround against RR. They conceded 214, largely due to Vaibhav Sooryavanshi's 96, who kept them at bay. The target required them to bat out of their skins, given their poor chasing record, and the fact that they would have to pull off the biggest chase ever in a Playoff game. But Gill put on a flawless display, adding a 160-run opening stand with Sudharsan, and taking them through with a 47-ball hundred, the first by a captain in a Playoff game.

On a scale of 1-10: 8/10. GT have shown that their team works a certain way, but there's room for improvement in a flimsy middle-order that somehow didn't need showing up too often.