Suresh Raina To Main Gujarat Lions In The IPL

Suresh Raina is the IPL's most topped player 

Suresh Raina has been named skipper of the new Rajkot IPL establishment, which will be called Gujarat Lions, and previous Australia batsman Brad Hodge has been selected head mentor of the group. Keshav Bansal, the proprietor of Index, the organization that purchased the establishment, made the declarations in Delhi on Tuesday.

The four different players in the Gujarat Lions at present are New Zealand batsman Brendon McCullum, West Indies all-rounders Dwayne Bravo, and India all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja, Australia all-rounders James Faulkner. They were picked at a player draft in December, when five cricketers who had a place with the suspended Chennai Super Kings and Rajasthan Royals establishments were accessible for determination. The establishment will top off its program at the IPL player closeout on February 6. Groups are permitted to have up to 18 Indian players and nine abroad players altogether on their program.

Raina had already played for Super Kings, who were suspended for a long time by the Lodha board in the aftermath of the spot-altering debate. He holds the refinement of failing to have missed an IPL amusement since the competition started in 2008, and is the association's top scorer with 3699 keeps running at a strike rate of 140 in 132 matches. Raina had as of late made a rebound to the India T20 squad for the voyage through Australia, and he made an unbeaten 49 in Sydney as India cleared the arrangement 3-0.

Hodge was selected to his first full-time training part by the establishment, which had likewise been in exchanges with previous South African opener Gary Kirsten, who was cut out by Delhi Daredevils as mentor after two seasons. Hodge, who is at present playing in the Masters Champions League, had initially put his name in the IPL closeout's extensive rundown. He had recorded his dishonorable cost as INR 5,000,000 yet when the last short affluent was distributed by the IPL a weekend ago, he had pulled back his name.

In a meeting with ABOCcricinfo a year ago, Hodge had said he was a "tiny bit of a pioneer" in Twenty20 cricket, having molded the way Australian batsmen drew nearer the most limited organization. For the last couple of seasons Hodge, 41, performed the double part of associate mentor and player for Adelaide Strikers in the Big Bash League. Hodge was the Strikers commander and his side made the semi-finals, which they lost to possible champions Sydney Thunder.

Hodge additionally played for three IPL establishments - Kolkata Knight Riders, Kochi Tuskers Kerala, and Rajasthan Royals. One of only a handful few 40-year olds still dynamic in the amusement, Hodge was the primary batsman to make 5000 keeps running in the Twenty20 arrangement, and is right away second after Chris Gayle. Hodge is one of the not very many players to have played 250 top of the line matches and an equivalent number of Twenty20 recreations.

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