Raina's Rajkot team also stakes claim for CSK legacy
Image Courtesy: © Twitter - Gujarat Lions
Former Chennai Super Kings player and current Gujarat Lions skipper Suresh Raina on Tuesday said that the core of the Chennai team is assembled in Gujarat. Apart from Raina, former CSK players like Brendon McCullum, Dwayne Bravo, Dwayne Smith and Ravindra Jadeja are part of the Gujarat Lions squad.
Ahead of the much-awaited new Indian Premier League season, the Gujarat Lions skipper shared the secret behind Gujarat Lions’ strong-looking squad in an interaction with the Times of India. The southpaw believes that the core of the best players from the suspended Chennai Super Kings team is assembled in Gujarat.
“I guess it's the Chennai Super Kings effect (smiles). There are so many from CSK here. Yes, the team looks very good, it's a great mix. All of us are just about beginning to get together. Some have already reached Rajkot, the rest are on their way. Brendon McCullum, James Faulkner, Dwayne Bravo, Aaron Finch, Dwayne Smith add to the batting might. In fact, in Faulkner, we have such a good all-rounder. There's Ravindra Jadeja who is around too.
“The core of CSK has assembled in Gujarat. To top it, we have Brad Hodge as coach, a real uncanny brain in this format. He's done really well for Rajasthan Royals (IPL) and Adelaide Strikers (Big Bash),” Raina told ToI.
When asked about the difficulty in playing for a new franchise after eight years with Chennai Super Kings, Raina compared it to leaving a family.
“It's not been easy and it's not going to be easy on us (CSK bunch) anytime soon either. It's like leaving one family and going to another. No matter how much love you get in this new family, how can you let go of all the love you received over the last eight years from the Chennai family. The city had become a second home to all of us. Ek
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However, the 29-year old added that the contest between Rising Pune Supergiants led by M S Dhoni and Gujarat Lions will be interesting and emotional with former CSK players clashing against each other.
“Yeah, and trust me it's going to be a great contest. We've all been through tough situations, won handsomely, felt disappointed after losses and built a great connect. We all understand each other well - strengths, weaknesses etc. So, it's going to be interesting and emotional, “the Gujarat Lions skipper told Toi.
The IPL 9 season will also be the first time Raina will be handling captaincy full time in his IPL career and the southpaw shared that he has learned a lot from Dhoni after playing under him for eight years.
“Oh yes, we're (Raina and Dhoni) already started being diplomatic with each other while discussing IPL. I've been looking at ways to ask him about his team's preparations, he's been doing the same. At dinner tables, at the nets, during practice, both of us are asking each other a lot of things but not revealing anything to each other (laughs). MS has been so happy for me and he was telling me how captaincy will add more responsibility on my shoulders and I could look forward to using that to my advantage to focus better,” the 29-year old said before concluding the interview. Â
