Suresh Raina launches Gujarat Lions jersey for IPL 2016

Indian middle-order batsman and the skipper of the Gujarat Lions team Suresh Raina on Saturday along with team owner Keshav Bansal launched the GL jersey for the upcoming season of the IPL. The team along with Sanjiv Goenka’s Rising Pune Supergiants will make their IPL debut in the 9th season.

Gujarat Lions led by Raina also stars Indian all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja, New Zealander Brendon McCullum and West Indies all-rounder Dwayne Bravo, all of whom were a part of the suspended Chennai Super Kings before.

Earlier this week, the franchise had also signed up former Zimbabwe skipper Heath Streak as the bowling coach.

Talking to the media at the jersey launch event the southpaw agreed to what MS Dhoni had said a week ago and stated that it won’t be easy to move over from CSK to GL, “I have played for CSK non-stop for eight years without missing a single game. So it will be emotional for me. But at the same time, we have a very good team at the Gujarat Lions.”

He also said he is pleased to have McCullum in the squad, “I am very happy for McCullum but I hope that somebody from India can do it. I am happy that we have McCullum in Gujarat Lions team. He is a fearless cricketer and we want players who will be playing fearless cricket.”

When asked about Brendon McCullum’s record fastest Test hundred that he scored today the GL skipper said, “I hope someone from India will break McCullum’s fastest Test Century record.”

“Captaincy is just a designation for me. It is the performance that wins you matches. It is all about how one performs on a particular day. My job is simple. I have to deliver for the Gujarat Lions. Right now, the focus is on Asia Cup, then we have the World T20 and then comes the IPL. We will have a camp in Gujarat with domestic players before IPL. It is important to have a balanced team with good domestic players.”

He also emphasized the importance of playing more matches ahead of the World T20 2016. “Playing matches are more important than playing practice games, because there is lot of pressure. Hope to do well in Asia Cup T20, it will be good preparation for World T20”

Raina also praised the seam bowling all-rounder Hardik Pandya who recently debuted for India. “Pandya is great all rounder. Me along with Yuvi can also bowl well so Indian team is balanced.”

“I don’t see it as a problem as we have big hitters across all slots. Yuvraj Singh, Hardik Pandya can play big shots. It is important to now maintain a consistent performance graph from here till the World T20. We have a good mix of youth and experience in our team. There are members of the 2007 World T20 team as well as the 2011 World Cup team. We are fortunate to have them.”

Here is the analysis of the Gujarat Lions squad – IPL 2016 Auction Analysis: Gujarat Lions