Behold the Gujarat Lions – Captained by Raina, and Coached by Hodge
The Rajkot-based Indian Premier League (IPL) franchise, owned by Intex Technologies, have been named the Gujarat Lions and former Chennai Super Kings batsman Suresh Raina has been named as the captain, while Australian T20 specialist Brad Hodge has been named as the coach.
Gujarat Lions are one of the two new teams which were auctioned by BCCI, following the suspension of Chennai Super Kings and Rajasthan Royals by the Supreme Court. Intex Technologies won the bid for the Rajkot-based franchise, while the Pune-based franchise was bought by Sanjiv Goenka of the RP-Sanjiv Goenka group.
Earlier last month, the Sanjiv Goenka-owned franchise was named as the Rising Pune Super Giants, while Mahendra Singh Dhoni was named as the captain. Dhoni's wingman at Chennai Super Kings, Suresh Raina, has now been named as the captain of the Gujarat Lions.
Brad Hodge, who is perhaps the most experienced cricketer in T20 format, has been named as the coach of the side. The 41-year-old veteran has represented the Kolkata Knight Riders, the Kochi Tuskers Kerala and the Rajasthan Royals in the IPL so far.
