IPL 2025: 3 Playoffs in 4 Years - How Gujarat Titans Became Models of Consistency Despite Late Entry into Indian Premier League

In the Indian Premier League playoffs, it is Qualifier 1 that is usually given the most importance given it pits the top 2 teams of the league stage against one another, but the Eliminator which sees Gujarat Titans take on Mumbai Indians is also a match of huge interest. 

This is because the IPL 2025 Eliminator pits one of the most consistent teams in the entirety of the IPL in Mumbai up against a side that have been extremely consistent in the recent seasons in Gujarat. 

GT have been a part of the IPL since the 2022 season when they, along with Lucknow Super Giants, became the two new teams to be granted an entry into the league. 

Yet while LSG's fortunes as a new team have been mixed to say the least, GT have become the model of consistency. 

Title Win in Debut Season

Until 2022, the only team to have won the IPL title in their debut season were inaugural winners Rajasthan Royals. Thereafter, the title has mostly been won by titles who were among the league's original teams. 

Gujarat Titans came and changed that. In their first season, captained by Hardik Pandya and coached by former India pacer Ashish Nehra, they ironically beat Rajasthan to capture their first title. 

Some rather unkindly dismissed their success as luck, given a number of top teams including Chennai Super Kings and MI didn't have a good season. 

But they proved the naysayers wrong when they made the final again in the 2023 season, narrowly losing out in a thrilling final to CSK but proving their mettle once again. 

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Hardik Leaves, Gill Assumes Charge

They were, however, dealt a blow for the 2024 season that few saw coming - Pandya sensationally quit the team to rejoin former franchise Mumbai, and GT needed a new captain. 

They elected to go with Shubman Gill, someone who many saw as a future India skipper in the waiting. But his first season did not quite go according to plan. 

They missed out on the playoffs, with the team lacking the same balance and clutch ability that had defined them in their first 2 seasons. Yet they bounced back in style in 2025. 

The arrival of new purchases Jos Buttler, Mohammed Siraj and Prasidh Krishna galvanised the team - and the promotion of Sai Sudharshan to an opener role proved a stroke of genius. 

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Sudharshan and Gill have proved a formidable duo atop the order and were well-supported by Buttler, and Prasidh finally began to blossom into the wicket-taking bowler everyone thought he could be. 

Existing players Sai Kishore and Shahrukh Khan also stepped up their performances and contributed to the team's cause. 

This will be the first time GT will attempt to make it to the final via the Eliminator, but they have proved they can always punch above their weight.