"I am not going towards Rashid Khan" - Aakash Chopra picks Gujarat Titans' likely highest wicket-taker in IPL 2023

Aakash Chopra has picked Mohammad Shami ahead of Rashid Khan as the Gujarat Titans' (GT) likely highest wicket-taker in IPL 2023.

Shami pipped Rashid to finish as the Titans' most successful bowler in their title-winning run last year. While the veteran seamer picked up 20 wickets at an economy of 8.00, the Afghanistan leg-spinner accounted for 19 scalps while conceding an average of just 6.59 runs per over.

On the "AakashVani" show on JioCinema, Chopra picked Shubman Gill and Mohammad Shami as the Gujarat Titans' likely highest run-scorer and top wicket-taker respectively, elaborating:

"Highest run-scorer - Shubman Gill/Kane Williamson. You have to stay at the top - Shubman Gill to be the highest run-scorer for the Gujarat franchise. Highest wicket-taker - your mind might be saying Rashid Khan but I am not going towards Rashid Khan because he gets less wickets. Mohammad Shami could be their highest wicket-taker."

Gill was the Titans' second-highest run-scorer in IPL 2022. His 483-run aggregate was just four short of Hardik Pandya's tally of 487 runs.

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"This is Ashish Nehra's team" - Aakash Chopra on Gujarat Titans' bowling might

The Gujarat Titans traded out Lockie Ferguson to the Kolkata Knight Riders ahead of the IPL 2023 auction. [P/C: iplt20.com]

Aakash Chopra believes the Gujarat Titans have a formidable bowling lineup, observing:

"There is nothing lacking in bowling. This is Ashish Nehra's team. They have gathered bowlers wholeheartedly. In the bowlers' list, you have Rashid Khan, Alzarri Joseph, Mohammed Shami, Darshan Nalkande, Noor Ahmed, R Sai Kishore, Pradeep Sangwan, Yash Dayal, Jayant Yadav, Mohit Sharma, Joshua Little and Shivam Mavi."

While expressing slight surprise at the Titans releasing Lockie Ferguson ahead of the auction, the former Indian opener pointed out that they made up for it by making some good seam-bowling acquisitions, stating:

"They bought Shivam Mavi very expensive, they gave him 6 crores. They bought Joshua Little for 4.4 crores and Odean Smith for 50 lakhs. This team has a lot of bowling options. So bowling will not be a problem."

Chopra picked Hardik Pandya's captaincy as the Gujarat Titans' other strength, although he acknowledged that they would be tested once they have a few adverse results, saying:

"They have a lot of strength in bowling. They have an excellent captain, he is extremely relaxed. However, it can be a challenge if you don't win regularly. They might have to face that sometime or the other."

The Titans will start their IPL 2023 campaign with a clash against the Chennai Super Kings (CSK) at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad on Friday, March 31. They will play alternate home and away games throughout the tournament, ending their league phase campaign with an away match against the Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) on May 21.