Three crucial changes GT can’t ignore next season

• Gujarat Titans lost to RCB in the 2026 IPL final
• Top order scored most runs, but middle order lacked depth
• Team must bolster middle-order batting and use Sundar's bowling

The Gujarat Titans pulled off a brilliant resurgence in the 2026 IPL season to reach the finals, where they were beaten by the Royal Challengers Bengaluru

by five wickets.

They made their way to the final on top of brilliant performances with bat and ball. The star-studded top three of skipper Shubman Gill, Sai Sudharsan, and Jos Buttler once more did the bulk of the scoring, while the bowling attack was dominated by hit-the-deck specialists bowling Test-match lengths. They have had problems which plagued them all season, which will need to be addressed ahead of the 2027 season, if they are to make it one step further and lift the trophy.

Here are 3 changes Gujarat Titans should make ahead of IPL 2027:

3. Add more domestic firepower to their middle order

The Titans' top three have done most of their heavy lifting with the bat. Openers Gill and Sudharsan both scored over 700 runs, and Buttler once more had a 500-plus run season. But one area where they have been found wanting is their lack of runs from the middle order. Washington Sundar contributed with scores at vital junctures, but outside of his runs, no one in the middle order was able to offer any significant resistance.

The Titans could well do with more domestic firepower in their middle order. They did give a few opportunities to Nishant Sindhu this year, and he did show some potential but did not convert his starts into anything significant. They will need batters who can not just hold fort when wickets fall at the top but also add to the score or pile on more runs on top of the platform set by the top three. 

2. Use Washington Sundar's bowling more often

Washington Sundar has been one of the better performers of the Titans' side cast, albeit in a middle-order role with the bat. He has scored 377 runs at a strike rate of 150.19, contributing to the team with three half-centuries. An all-rounder by trade, Washington has been limited to mostly a batter-only role, with his bowling being used as a match-up option when there are left-handers on both ends. 

Washington has honed his craft of bowling with the white ball in the shortest format. He is a reliable bowler for the national team, and his career economy of 7.10 in the format and 7.76 in the IPL shows that he can be used as a reliable option to hold an end and control the run flow. He is also a smart operator with multiple variations in his repertoire and has bowled in all phases of the innings. His use of the ball would give the Titans an extra option to construct their attack around. 

1. Get more out of Jason Holder, the all-rounder

Jason Holder was one of the revelations of the 2026 season. Coming into the squad midway through, the big West Indies all-rounder became a mainstay for the Titans, bowling in the middle and death overs. He would build on the platform set by the new ball pair of Kagiso Rabada and Mohammed Siraj, troubling the batters with his hard lengths. He picked up 17 wickets in 11 matches, bowling at an economy rate of 7.56. 

While Holder's contributions with the ball were vital to the Titans' success, he was almost limited to a finisher role with the bat. Holder has time and again proved that he is not just a six-hitter with the bat but has the technique and stroke play to hold an innings together. In a season where the Titans have, on occasion, needed a stabiliser who can also score runs and boundaries in the middle order, Holder's curbed role with the bat leaves a lot of unanswered questions.