Gujarat Titans will begin their official pre-IPL camp at the iconic Motera Stadium in Ahmedabad starting March 17. The Titans expect a full attendance with captain Hardik Pandya also joining in following the completion of BCCI’s pre-IPL fitness camp at the NCA in Bengaluru.The coaching staff led by head coach Ashish Nehra and mentor Gary Kirsten apart from the players will assemble in Ahmedabad on March 13 and will enter a three-day mandatory quarantine. The camp will end on March 24 before Gujarat Titans head to Mumbai for their opening match against fellow debutant Lucknow Super Giants on March 28.
Gujarat Titans’ South African player David Miller will not be available for the camp as he will be busy in the three-match ODI series against Bangladesh. He is expected to be available for the first match after serving a mandatory three-day quarantine in Mumbai. Meanwhile, Rahmanullah Gurbaz will become the third Afghanistan player at Gujarat Titans who have signed the wicketkeeper-batter for IPL 2022 as a replacement for England opener Jason Roy. Gurbaz will be joining Afghanistan pair of Rashid Khan and Noor Ahmad at Titans. While Rashid had been acquired by the franchise pre-auction, Noor, who recently featured in the Under-19 World Cup, was bought at the auction. Gurbaz will be a back-up for Australian wicketkeeper-batter Matthew Wade, who is likely to open alongside Shubman Gill. It is understood Gurbaz was part of the shortlist of contenders Titans considered as Roy's replacement. The list also included Australian batter Ben McDermott, who recently hit his maiden T20I half-century during the home series against Sri Lanka after having finished as the leading run scorer in the 2021-22 BBL. However, availability was a hurdle in McDermott's case, so Titans settled for Gurbaz, who has been impressive since he first made headlines at the 2018 Under-19 World Cup where he played a key role in Afghanistan reaching the semi-final.
