Twitter Reaction: Delighted fans welcome Gujarat Lions

The newly formed Rajkot franchise has been named as Gujarat Lions. Suresh Raina will lead the team while Brad Hodge has been appointed as the head coach.

Suresh Raina was previously part of the Chennai Super Kings while Brad Hodge has played for three IPL franchises – Kolkata Knight Riders, Kochi Tuskers Kerala and most recently Rajasthan Royals.

The names of the team and its logo, skipper and coach were announced in the Capital on Tuesday where Raina and team owner Keshav Bansal were also present. Bansal said the team’s name was chosen through an online poll and Rajkot will be its home ground.

“The team name was chosen after a poll on social media where Gujarat Lions was the most voted name.” Our home ground will be Rajkot. We are in talks with Gujarat government and may come up with an academy there,” said Bansal.

Raina was also equally excited about his new team and role.

“I urge everyone to support Gujarat Lions, the first IPL team from the region,” Raina said at the event.

“I am excited about the auction and will sit with team coach and owner to decide on the players,” the seasoned IPL campaigner added.

The Rajkot side is one of the two new franchises which were introduced to the Indian Premier League. The other new franchise is Rising Pune Giant led by Mahendra Singh Dhoni. The team as of now includes names like Ravindra Jadeja, James Faulkner, Brendon McCullum and Dwayne Bravo. All of them were picked in the IPl draft held last November.

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