IPL 2022: Gujarat Titans ditch Suresh Raina, sign THIS player as Jason Roy’s replacement

Fans were hopeful of Gujarat Titans signing Raina as Roy’s replacement and they even pleaded the franchise to consider the same. However, Hardik Pandya-led GT chose Gurbaz over the former CSK star.

File image (Source: Twitter)

Gujarat Titans (GT) have signed Rahmanullah Gurbaz as a replacement for the England batter Jason Roy for the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2022.

Gurbaz, an Afghanistan wicketkeeper-batter, has played 20 T20Is, and has 534 runs against his name with the help of 3 half-centuries and a strike rate close to 138 in the T20 internationals.

Apart from having a superb T20 strike rate as an opener, Gurbaz is also a handy keeper which makes him a multi-utility player. The most exciting aspect is the 20-year-old's ability to clear the ropes with 113 sixes in 69 career T20 games.

Welcome home, Gurbaz bhai! 

Aapda debut ma pan joiye che.#GujaratTitans pic.twitter.com/nHa1a7IrAh — Gujarat Titans (@gujarat_titans) March 9, 2022

Gurbaz's entry will also solve another issue for Titans and that's the keeping crisis.

Matthew Wade will only be available in the second week of IPL and the only other keeper in the roster is Wriddhiman Saha, whom they may be compelled to play despite not such great T20 record in recent times.

Notably, Gurbaz, who joins Gujarat Titans at his base price of INR 50 Lakh, will be the third Afghanistan cricketer alongside Rashid Khan and Noor Ahmad to feature for the franchise.

Gurbaz has been a sought-after name in franchise cricket having played for Multan Sultans and Islamabad United in Pakistan Super League, Kandy Tuskers in Lanka Premier League, and Khulna Tigers in Bangladesh Premier League.

Interestingly, Gurbaz’s signing means that former Team India all-rounder and Chennai Super Kings star Suresh Raina won’t play IPL 2022 after going unsold in the mega auction.

Fans were hopeful of Gujarat Titans signing Raina as Roy’s replacement and they even pleaded the franchise to consider the same.

Dear @gujarat_titans, if you pick Suresh Raina as a replacement of Roy, you are not just picking Raina for the team also you would getting almost 10M+ followers for your team who would promote your matches and support. This is important for your brand value. #SureshRaina pic.twitter.com/zEZrZqaSCP — Nikhil Shete (@Nix_viratian_18) March 2, 2022

#SureshRaina Pls titans its emotion off indian cricket fans ,,its last hope in my life #GujaratTitans Pls pic.twitter.com/3iWaJcuQca — D Hearts (@DHearts5) March 2, 2022

As a true cricket fan I just want Raina to play the ipl. thats it.This guy is the hear and soul of the ipl. He has made what ipl is today. Please gujrat titans pick him as a replacement. Coming from a csk fan. #Raina #SureshRaina #Suresh Raina — Uttkarsh Gupta (@27_uttkarsh) March 2, 2022

However, Hardik Pandya-led GT chose Gurbaz over Raina meaning that the southpaw’s return to IPL is still a distant dream for fans.

Gujarat Titans, who will be making their IPL debut this year, will face Lucknow Super Giants in their first game of the IPL 2022 on March 28 at the Wankhede Stadium, Mumbai. 

Gujarat Titans' squad for IPL 2022: Hardik Pandya (c), Shubman Gill, Rashid Khan, Rahmanullah Gurbaz, Mohammed Shami, Lockie Ferguson, Abhinav Sadarangani, Rahul Tewatia, Noor Ahmad, R Sai Kishore, Dominic Drakes, Jayant Yadav, Vijay Shankar, Darshan Nalkande, Yash Dayal, Alzarri Joseph, Pradeep Sangwan, David Miller, Wriddhiman Saha, Matthew Wade, Gurkeerat Singh, Varun Aaron, B Sai Sudarshan.