One fallout of the two-year suspension imposed on Chennai Super Kings was that other teams were free to adopt the `lion' logo. In spite of CSK's absence, the lion will be roaring in the Indian Premier League (IPL) this season with the arrival of newly-christened Gujarat Lions.
The Rajkot-based franchise, owned by mobile manufacturing company Intex, officially launched the team and anointed Suresh Raina the skipper. Raina was the team's first draft pick.
Intex owner Keshav Bansal had the second-lowest bid during the team auction and the Delhi-based company chose the Capital to launch its new outfit. While Raina will be the captain, veteran Australian batsman Brad Hodge has been appointed coach.
The Lions are expected to have a tough task on the field in IPL-9, having to competing with six well-settled outfits. But Bansal appeared confident. “We are aware that other teams have the advantage of playing for eight seasons and have their own fan base.
“It just means we'll have to put in extra effort, innovate and bring some fresh ideas to the table. We'll implement a 360-degree marketing approach. Legacy is not something that is built overnight. We'll put our best foot forward because brand building is a long-term process,” Bansal said.
“We are concentrating on the next two years. Let's see what BCCI suggest in future and we'll keep options open,” he added. Another disadvantage for the Lions is the fact that most of the other six teams have retained the core of their players. Although the Lions are the only team from Gujarat, some of the top young talents from the region like Hardik Pandya and Jasprit Bumrah have already been retained by Mumbai Indians.
“We have to be practical - we have got the team for two years. We can't crib about that but we see it as an opportunity and build on it. We have to look at the mistakes the other teams have made and try to correct those,” the owner said.
Raina, fresh from his match-winning knock in the third T20 in Sydney was ready for the new challenge.“I have played under the biggest star (MS Dhoni) in this country for the last eight years. We have played in a few finals together. It will be a challenge to curtail his helicopter shot,” he said.
In hindsight, one of the big miss in the draft for the Lions was Shane Watson, who has been in sensational form in the Big Bash League as well as in the Sydney T20, in which he smashed an unbeaten century against India. “We are very happy with the five players we got. We had decided about the five players in the draft that we wanted and we got all of them. We made a conscious decision of having these five players,” Bansal said.
