Simon Doull added that the Gujarat Titans (GT) couldn’t find a perfect replacement for Hardik Pandya at the IPL 2024 auction. The Titans traded Pandya to the Mumbai Indians (MI) before the auction. They spent ₹30.30 crore to buy eight players at the auction but lost the bids for two big names Mitchell Starc and Harshal Patel to the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) and the Punjab Kings (PBKS) respectively as well.

Reviewing the auction on Star Sports, Doull said: “I don’t think they have plugged the hole that Hardik Pandya has left by any stretch of the imagination. But they have gone to Kartik Tyagi, so they have got some local bowling, which is what they needed – Umesh Yadav and Kartik Tyagi in particular. Spencer Johnson was an interesting one for me. I like him. I think he is a very, very good cricketer. Moods (Tom Moody) knows a lot about him. He was obviously with Moods at the Oval Invincibles in The Hundred. If you want an overseas all-rounder to fit into your side, Azmatullah Omarzai is an absolute steal at 50 lakhs.”

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The Gujarat Titans bought Johnson for a whopping ₹10 crore after they failed to acquire Mitchell Starc’s services. And, Tom Moody said that the Gujarat Titans tried to find a replacement for Hardik Pandya through the combined skills of the two players as well.

He explained: “I thought their auction was really interesting. I felt they tried to replace Hardik Pandya through using that vehicle of the Impact Player. The way I think they have looked at it is Umesh Yadav is the bowling overs that Hardik Pandya provided the team. You may not get four out of him but he can provide some overs and then you have got Shahrukh Khan, who can bat down the order at No. 5 or No. 6, probably more so No. 6, and be more of a finisher.”