Former Indian cricketer Aakash Chopra has pointed out the weak links in the Gujarat Titans lineup ahead of IPL 2026. According to the former cricketer, Gujarat Titans are highly dependent on their top three for most of their run-scoring.
Gujarat Titans made their debut in 2022 and won the first season in the IPL. Under the captaincy of Hardik Pandya, they have reached consecutive IPL finals but missed a big opportunity in their second season in 2023.
They also finished as the fourth team in the competition after losing in the eliminator against Mumbai Indians. The former Indian cricketer predicted that Gujarat Titans will have many weak links in the competition.
Gujarat Titans are highly dependent on their top three Aakash Chopra
Former Indian cricketer Aakash Chopra said that Gujarat Titans are a little too dependent on their top-order batsmen and this could prove to be their biggest weakness in the competition. He also highlighted the poor form of Jos Buttler, who has struggled even on good tracks.
“What are their weaknesses? They can be called weaknesses or challenges. A little over-dependence on the top three is still seen. It is great if they repeat what they did last year, which means the top three bat together till the 14th or 15th over and at least one of them has to be 100 per cent till the 15th over,” Chopra said on his YouTube channel.
Buttler was last seen playing for England in the ICC T20 World Cup 2026 and it was probably the worst World Cup of his career. In the 8 matches he played for England, he could score only 87 runs at an average of 10.88.
“However, the truth is that Jos Buttler’s current form is very good. We have not seen Jos Buttler playing more normally than this in any World Cup edition. He was seen struggling in good conditions this time.”
He said, “So will it be a bit of a problem for Gujarat Titans? You want to open with Jos Buttler, but what if the form is not good? Both the openers cannot score runs every time.”
“The second challenge will be if the top three don’t perform well,” Aakash Chopra’s stern warning to GT middle-order batsmen
Not only Jos Buttler but Shubman Gill was also out of form in the shortest format of the game as he was dropped from India’s T20 World Cup squad. He has a lot to do not only to secure his spot but also to prove his chances as India’s future captain across all formats.
If the top order fails to perform, the middle-order batsmen of Gujarat Titans will be under immense pressure. “The second challenge will be that if the top three do not perform well, there will be pressure on Nos. 4 to 6, in which Washington Sundar may have a big role and Glenn Phillips may get a chance to play consistent games,” Chopra said.
Then Kumar Kushagra is coming in seriously good form. Then you might want to include Jason Holder as well,” said the cricketer turned commentator.
Who will be the top 4 overseas options for Gujarat Titans?
Gujarat Titans will have to choose wicketkeeper batsman Jos Buttler, who contributes pace to the Titans’ batting line-up. However, they will also have to select Kagiso Rabada and Rashid Khan as the two other foreign cricketers in the team.
This clearly means that they will not have both Jason Holder and Glenn Phillips in the same team. To achieve this, he will have to sacrifice Kagiso Rabada’s place in the team.
He said, “If they keep Holder, they will not be able to play Kagiso Rabada. So one of Holder and Glenn Phillips can be seen playing. The right combination needs to be found quickly. So that is a challenge they will have to face.”
Chopra is also apprehensive about Rashid Khan’s form. He feels that although the spinner has recovered recently, his form in the IPL has been lukewarm for several seasons. No one has ever seen Rashid so cold in his career.
Also read: Rohit Sharma creates Mumbai Indians – Hardik Pandya will have to win IPL 2026 or step down from captaincy