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IPL 2016: Meet the Gujarat Lions squad for season 9

The Gujarat Lions will be banking on some fireworks from Raina (Right)

One of the two new IPL teams for this year’s IPL, the Gujarat Lions squad will be led by the ever-dependable Suresh Raina will be all set to rub shoulders against the other teams competing in the cash-rich league.

Although acting only as a substitute team for the next two years, the Gujarat Lions have already made a name for themselves, with the likes of Brendon McCullum, Suresh Raina, Dwayne Bravo and a few other stars set to don the Lions colours.

The team has a wonderful mix of youth, experience and has a commendable mix of talented foreigners and local Indian players. The player draft saw the side settle for the major part of their core containing ex-CSK players.

The Initial core bought saw Raina, McCullum, Bravo, Jadeja and Faulkner go to the Lions. With Suresh Raina being appointed as captain, for the first time in the IPL, it will be interesting to see what he has learnt under the able wings of his CSK captain MS Dhoni and how he goes about business on the field, with the able guidance of coach Brad Hodge.

How did the auctions go for them? 

With a very strong core group, the Lions concentrated on filling up their squad with handy local talent. The foreigners bought though were amongst the best names in the game with Aussie opener Aaron Finch, speedster Dale Steyn, Dwayne Smith and Andrew Tye featuring in the list.

Indian talent included prominent names such as Dinesh Karthik, Praveen Kumar, veteran Pravin Tambe etc. 

Strengths:

As with almost all the teams in the league, the Gujarat Lions squad have an explosive batting line-up with McCullum, Finch, Raina and Bravo leading the charge. Dinesh Karthik and Ravindra Jadeja provide stability to the side. 

The bowling also looks well settled with quite a lot of handy all-rounders in the mix. Bravo, Jadeja, Faulkner to name a few. Dale Steyn is amongst the most feared in the game although he has not been in form. Pradeep Sangwan has been tried and tested in the IPL while Praveen Kumar and Pravin Tambe provide a wealth of experience in the squad.

Weaknesses:

The Lions will have a headache in trying to pick the four foreigners to make the cut. Brendon McCullum and Dwayne Bravo are certainties while James Faulkner’s ability with both bat and ball makes him a great pick.

Dale Steyn’s dismal form in the World Cup might just put his selection in doubt although a fast-bowler’s presence like that of Steyn’s will be useful. However, the major problem will be to decide the constituency of the middle order.

With the top four decided and Dinesh Karthik in the mix, it will be interesting to see which uncapped player is entrusted with the role of stabilising the middle order.

Franchise details:

Owner: Intex Technologies

Captain: Suresh Raina

Home: Saurashtra Cricket Association Stadium, Rajkot

History: Debutants

Gujarat Lions squad for IPL 9:

Foreigners: Aaron Finch, Dwayne Bravo, James Faulkner, Dwayne Smith, Brendon McCullum, Dale Steyn, Andrew Tye.

Indians: Suresh Raina, Dinesh Karthik, Praveen Kumar, Pravin Tambe, Dhawal Kulkarni, Pradeep Sangwan, Paras Dogra, Umang Sharma, Jaydev Shah, Akshdeep Nath, Eklavya Dwivedi, Ishan Kishan, Sarabjit Ladda, Shadab Jakati, Amit Mishra, Shivil Kaushik.

Gujarat Lions schedule for IPL 9:

DateOppositionVenueTime
11th April 2016Kings XI PunjabPCA Cricket Stadium, Mohali20:00
14th April 2016Rising Pune Super GiantsSaurashtra Cricket Association Stadium, Rajkot20:00
16th April 2016Mumbai IndiansWankhede Stadium, Mumbai20:00
21st April 2016Sunrisers HyderabadSaurashtra Cricket Association Stadium, Rajkot20:00
24th April 2016Royal Challengers BangaloreSaurashtra Cricket Association Stadium, Rajkot16:00
27th April 2016Delhi DaredevilsFerozeshah Kotla, Delhi20:00
29th May 2016Rising Pune SupergiantsMCA, Pune20:00
1st May 2016Kings XI PunjabSaurashtra Cricket Association Stadium, Rajkot20:00
3rd May 2016Delhi DardevilsSaurashtra Cricket Association Stadium, Rajkot20:00
6th May 2016Sunrisers HyderabadRajiv Gandhi International Cricket Stadium, Hyderabad20:00
8th May 2016Kolkata Knight RidersEden Gardens, Kolkata20:00
14th May 2016Royal Challengers BangaloreM Chinnaswamy Stadium, Bangalore16:00
19th May 2016Kolkata Knight RidersUnavailable-
21st May 2016Mumbai IndiansUnavailable-
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