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IPL 2025: Shreyas Iyer To Play Under Shubman Gill? 3 Batters Gujarat Titans Will Target In Mega Auction

Bhargav Dixit

GT might target Shreyas Iyer and Will Jacks. [Source: @KKRiders & @Adityakrsaha/X]GT might target Shreyas Iyer and Will Jacks. [Source: @KKRiders & @Adityakrsaha/X]


One of the five franchises to have retained five players ahead of Indian Premier League 2025 mega auction, Gujarat Titans will sit on the bidding table with INR 69 crore in hand. One of the four franchises to have exhausted their limit of retaining two uncapped players, GT have only one RTM card reserved exclusively for a capped player.

This piece, however, is about batters which the Shubman Gill-led franchise will look to buy in Jeddah later this month. Considering the auction dynamics, which are impossible to crack, there’s no guarantee whether they’ll be able to pull off the same but should at least bid for them.

Jos Buttler

Since their inception in 2022, Titans have relied heavily on an opening combination comprising Gill and veteran India wicket-keeper batter Wriddhiman Saha. With the latter set to retire from all formats of the game post Ranji Trophy 2024-2025, the franchise needs to find a new wicket-keeper and opening batter.

In England white-ball captain Jos Buttler, they will get both. Buttler, 34, might be hesitant to keep wickets primarily because of his age. Even then, the Englishman could prove more than handy on the back of his contribution in the field as both a fielder and an ICC T20 World Cup-winning captain.

Additionally, the right-handed batter is the sixth-highest T20 run-scorer at the Narendra Modi Stadium - Gujarat’s home ground. Sixth-highest IPL run-scorer among overseas players, Buttler is the best T20 batter among all the overseas batters who have played at this ground.

With Titans already retaining Gill and Sai Sudharshan, Buttler is among the two batters shortlisted for IPL 2025 auction to have scored a T20 century at this venue. Buttler, who has also scored two half-centuries here, averages 52.83 and strikes at 146.08 across eight T20 innings in Ahmedabad. With him not expected to be the most expensive player in the first marquee set, GT could make a great deal out of this move.

Shreyas Iyer

Just like Buttler, India batter Shreyas Iyer is also among the first marquee set of players. In fact, his name comes right after Buttler among the first two shortlisted players. In Iyer, Titans will not only get a reliable middle-order batter but also an IPL-winning captain.

Iyer, who hasn’t played T20Is in almost a year now, shouldn’t mind performing as a specialist batter without the additional burden of captaincy. Keen to “test his market value” in a mega auction, the 29-year-old player also boasts of a praiseworthy record in the city.

Having played all but a lone IPL match here, Iyer’s T20 average of 59.67 and strike rate of 167.29 are the second-best in both the respective fields behind Gill (71.93) and Master Blaster Sachin Tendulkar (175.50) as far as this iconic stadium is concerned.



Gujarat, who already consist of Indian finishers namely Rahul Tewatia and Shahrukh Khan, Iyer’s presence in the middle-order has it in it to benefit them immensely.

Will Jacks

Much like Buttler, England all-rounder Will Jacks has also registered himself under the highest base price category, i.e., INR 2 crore. If Buttler was the first overseas player to hit a T20 century at this venue, Jacks became the second last season.

A knock which had amazed the great Virat Kohli at the non-striker’s end had announced Jacks’ arrival in the biggest T20 league around the world. Jacks, who had hit centuries in SA20 and Bangladesh Premier League before that innings, is among the two batters to have crossed the three-figure mark thrice in this format in 2024. 1,119 runs at a strike rate of 159.17 this year is enough a testament to his current form.

Yet to stand tall on his much talked about potential in international cricket, Jacks’ stakes could rise anytime now. Therefore, it might just be the perfect time for GT to acquire the 26-year-old player.