Gujarat Lions, the newest inclusion in the IPL family, are the team representing Rajkot city under the captaincy of batsman Suresh Raina.
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“This association is an exciting platform to reach out to our customers and we are confident of elevating our brand recall to a much larger audience”, said TVS Tyres director P Vijayaraghavan. “I have played for CSK for eight years, learnt a lot of things there from senior players”, Raina concluded.
They have an experienced skipper in Raina, who has a proven record in the IPL and with Team India; fiery batsmen McCullum and Finch; seasoned allrounders in Bravo, who took the most number of wickets last season, and Jadeja; and good fast bowling options in Steyn and Faulkner, who can also bat well down the order.
The left handed player also said the Lions were lucky to have Bravo, his old CSK teammate, in its ranks.
“I’m very much an instinctive player and I now have to cater for everyone”.
It’s not only the operational pressures Gujarat faces, but the unifying of a group of players who will only fully gather just three days out from their first match against Kings XI Punjab on Monday. Dwayne Bravo is there, Brendon McCullum is there. “We have won so many matches there and had so many ups and downs, obviously it feels different to know that you have to play somewhere else for two years”, Raina had said.
The BCCI secretary Anurag Thakur on Friday said that Team Director Ravi Shastri’s contract has ended but it can be up for renewal if the high-profile Cricket Advisory Committee (CAC) comprising Sachin Tendulkar, VVS Laxman and Sourav Ganguly deems fit. “We wanted to make a balanced team with experience and talent and I am happy that we could manage to get the experience and talented cricketers”. “They know the conditions and every player knew how to prepare themselves since they have played in the IPL”.
When asked what his goals are for the upcoming IPL, Raina simply said, “Just go there and smash (the ball)”.
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Adding to the brand’s prestigious list of previous association with sporting events like Pro Kabaddi League, Hockey India League among others, TVS Tyres marks its first association with the Indian Premier League; one of the most sought-after and awaited sport tournaments in the country.
