The Ahmedabad-based IPL franchise which will be led by Hardik Pandya has been named as the Gujarat Titans ahead of the mega auction. The franchise will be one of two new teams entering the league from the 2022 season as the IPL expands to a ten-team competition. The franchise was purchased by the CVC group for a whopping amount of Rs. 5625 Crore. Alongside them, Sanjiv Goenka's RPSG group bought a franchise from Lucknow for Rs. 7090 Crore in October last year.
The Titans' three pre-auction picks were Pandya at 15 crore, Afghanistan's star leg-spinner Rashid Khan for 15 crore, and Shubman Gill for 8 crore.
Former Indian pacer Ashish Nehra is set to be their head coach while ex-England cricketer Vikram Solanki has been appointed their director of cricket. Meanwhile, India's 2011 Cricket World Cup-winning coach Gary Kirsten will be the mentor and batting coach. Speaking on the team name, skipper Hardik Pandya said, "It is a pretty amazing feeling to be honest, Loved the name.Shows our characters. It means a lot to me. When I see the happiness, you know my family, they stay in Gujarat and the kind of pride I see in their eyes, that means a lot. Great opportunity for me as well. This is going to be a learning curve for me."
