Gujarat Titans head coach Ashish Nehra revealed the thought process behind picking Jason Holder and Tom Banton at the IPL 2026 mini-auction, which was held on December 16 in Abu Dhabi.
With a purse of INR 12.90 crore, GT added five players — three overseas and two Indian. Apart from Holder and Banton, they brought in Luke Wood, Prithvi Raj and Ashok Sharma.
Having already had a long list of fast bowlers in their ranks, Nehra was pleased to add four more options to the team’s arsenal.
“Overall, we are very happy. We retained 20 players, so it was a small auction. Most importantly, I’m very happy that we got four fast bowlers. In the months of April and May, it’s extremely hot. Teams even look for net bowlers, and fast bowlers are always in short supply.”
At INR 7 crore, Holder became GT’s most expensive buy of the auction. In the past, GT have had seam-bowling all-rounders such as Hardik Pandya, Vijay Shankar, Dasun Shanaka and Karim Janat. While the top order scored the bulk of the runs for GT last season, there was a gap in the middle order. Holder’s ability to use the long handle could come in handy for the 2022 winners.
“So, pretty much, we got what we wanted. The first half was quiet, but in the second half we were pretty happy — no doubt about it. We always knew that Jason was going to go for a bit of money. Someone like Jason, or even Livingstone — he went unsold initially and then went for a big amount. Coming back to Jason Holder, we are really happy with his experience and leadership skills. He is a great addition,” Nehra added.
GT ignored the likes of Jonny Bairstow, Jamie Smith and Rahmanullah Gurbaz to bid on Tom Banton, who has played two matches in the IPL.
“Tom Banton, and even someone like Jason Holder, can hit big. Tom has been around the England team as well, and we are very happy that we could get another batsman. We already had players like Jos Buttler and Anuj Rawat, but you always need more options. After all, you are talking about a squad of 25,” Nehra concluded.
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