Gujarat Titans (GT) roped in New Zealand's skipper Kane Williamson for his base price Rs 2 crore in the just concluded IPL 2023 auction. GT grabbed a big fish without spending much which left many wondering as to why the former Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) skipper was sold for his base price, Rs 12 crore less than IPL 2022.
Meanwhile, GT's head coach Ashish Nehra was equally surprised to acquire Williamson for his base price in Kochi on Friday, however, having such a big asset in team's rank, he also revealed the star batter's batting position for the 16th season of the glitzy league, which is expected to begin from Sunday, March 26, 2023.
After roping up Williamson, Nehra revealed the batting roles of skipper Hardik Pandya and the new entrant in GT's playing XI and also underlined the batter's batting position.
When asked about whether the Kiwi will be exploited as a regular member of the playing XI, Nehra said the franchise was looking someone like Williamson to bat at no.3.
"Yes, of course. Somebody like Kane Williamson, you are looking at batting at No. 3," the former India star bowler said.
Hardik batted at No. 3 only once last year, otherwise he batted at No. 4. With Williamson at 3, Hardik will continue to bat at No. 4. We cannot think so far ahead since there’s still so much time for the IPL to begin. We will take a call closer to the tournament but I don’t think Hardik will bat down the order. And I feel there is no such thing as a finisher. If you are set and batting well, you are expected to finish the game. Even your opener can be your finisher," Nehra further added.
The IPL 2022 champions GT made some intelligent buys in the auction on Friday (December 23). The Gujarat-based franchise broke bank on the likes of Shivam Mavi (Rs 6 crore), KS Bharat (Rs 1.2 crore) along with Williamson in a steal deal.
Players bought In IPL 2023 Auction:
Mohit Sharma (INR 50 lakh), Joshua Little (INR 4.4 crore), Urvil Patel (INR 20 lakh), Shivam Mavi (INR 6 crore), KS Bharat (INR 1.2 crore), Odean Smith (INR 50 lakh), Kane Williamson (INR 2 crore)
Players Retained:
Hardik Pandya (c), Shubman Gill, David Miller, Abhinav Manohar, Sai Sudharsan, Wriddhiman Saha, Matthew Wade, Rashid Khan, Rahul Tewatia, Vijay Shankar, Mohammed Shami, Alzarri Joseph, Yash Dayal, Pradeep Sangwan, Darshan Nalkande, Jayant Yadav, R Sai Kishore, Noor Ahmad.
