Ranking GT's buys at IPL 2024 Auction 

Indian Premier League (IPL) 2022 champions Gujarat Titans (GT) went into the IPL 2024 mini-auction with the highest purse of ₹38.15 crore available to them. The IPL 2023 finalists bought eight players in the auction to solidify their roster for the upcoming season.

Even before the auction, there was a huge development within the franchise as Shubman Gill was appointed as the skipper after Hardik Pandya was traded to the Mumbai Indians (MI) in an all-cash deal worth ₹15 crore.

In the IPL auction, they needed to fill the void left by Pandya and also eyed a few frontline pace-bowling options. GT spent ₹30.30 crore at the auction but were still left with ₹7.85 crore.

On that note, let's evaluate and rank all the new signings made by GT at the IPL 2024 auction.

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#1 9/10 - Shahrukh Khan, Azmatullah Omarzai

Shahrukh Khan for the Punjab Kings (PBKS) [Getty Images]

Shahrukh Khan was expected to be picked up at a huge price at the auction. After all, he is one of those rare Indian finishers, who possesses a power game and can also roll his arm over.

During this year's Tamil Nadu Premier League (TNPL), Shahrukh led his franchise Lyca Kovai Kings to the championship as the skipper and smashed 133 runs at an immaculate strike rate of 190.00. He was also the highest wicket-taker of the tournament with 17 scalps in nine games.

Shahrukh will instantly slot into the Gujarat playing XI and will form a great middle and lower order alongside David Miller, Vijay Shankar and Rahul Tewatia.

One of the most shrewd signings made by GT occured when they picked up Azmatullah Omarzai for his base price of ₹50 lakh. While he is an overseas pickup, the Afghanistan all-rounder is a like-for-like replacement for Pandya.

Omarzai is a quality batter who bats in the middle-order and bowls medium-pace deliveries. While it remains to be seen if he finds a spot in the first team, Omarzai is a brilliant buy nonetheless.

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#2 8.5/10 - Kartik Tyagi, Manav Suthar

Kartik Tyagi for India U-19 [Getty Images]

Two of the five uncapped players who went into the GT squad were Kartik Tyagi and Manav Suthar. Tyagi, who was expected to attract bids from multiple franchises, was surprisingly sold for only ₹60 lakh.

With his quick pace and ability to nail those crucial yorkers, Tyagi would bolster the pace-bowling options for Gujarat. He was also part of the Rajasthan Royals (RR) and Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) setups previously.

Manav Suthar, meanwhile, is a slow left-arm spinner from Rajasthan. Suthar, who was a net bowler for GT in the 2022 season, enjoyed a superb Ranji Trophy 2022/23 edition. Suthar took 39 wickets at an average of 20.33 across six red-ball games for Rajasthan.

Suthar is a classic left-arm spinner who can vary his pace brilliantly and will give competition to Ravi Sai Kishore in the GT squad.

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#3 8/10 - Spencer Johnson, Umesh Yadav, Robin Minz, Sushant Mishra

Spencer Johnson during India v Australia - ODI Series: Game 2 [Getty Images]

We have given an 8/10 rating to four new signings, i.e., Spencer Johnson (₹10 cr), Umesh Yadav (₹5.80 cr), Robin Minz (₹3.60 cr), and Sushant Mishra (₹2.20 cr).

Johnson became the most expensive GT buy as he was picked up for ₹10 crore after an intense battle with the Delhi Capitals (DC). GT tried their best to sign Mitchell Starc and even bid ₹24.50 crore for the Australian maestro. However, they then settled for Johnson, who is similar to Starc as far as bowling with the new ball is concerned.

While there is certain potential in Johnson, he is yet to prove himself against some of the world's best batters. Moreover, spending ₹10 crore straight up for his maiden IPL contract might put Johnson under pressure, who has started to play competitive T20 cricket from January 2023 only.

The Titans added two more Indian bowlers to their arsenal as they purchased Umesh Yadav and Sushant Mishra. While Yadav is an accomplished IPL bowler, Mishra is a relatively unknown commodity.

With 141 IPL games under his name, Yadav will add experience to the GT bowling lineup and can fill the role if one of Mohammed Shami or Mohit Sharma goes out of form.

Mishra, meanwhile, is a left-arm pacer and has possibly replaced Yash Dayal in the team. Hailing from Ranchi, Mishra has played all three formats for Jharkhand and also played U-19 cricket for India. In the 2022 season, he joined the SRH team as a replacement for Saurabh Dubey, but did not get to play any match.

Last but not the least, Robin Minz was also sold to Gujarat after the franchise won the bidding war against three different teams. Minz, who was picked up for ₹3.60 crore, became the first-ever tribal player to be part of the IPL.

Talking about his batting, Minz is a natural power-hitter, who is also a reliable wicket-keeper. Two senior Jharkhand players, Ishank Jaggi and Saurabh Tiwary, also rate Minz highly and call him the "next big thing" due to his high potential.