IPL 2016 Gujarat Lions Team, Schedule and Venue Details

The ninth edition of the Indian Premier League will commence from April 9, 2016. This year, two teams will play the IPL for the first time. One is Rising Pune Supergiants and the other is Gujarat Lions. These two teams will serve as replacements for Chennai Super Kings and Rajasthan Royals.

Just like Rising Pune Supergiants, Gujarat Lions will also play the IPL for only two years. Gujarat Lions play their first match against Kings XI Punjab on April 11, 2016 at the Punjab Cricket Association Stadium, Mohali. This should be an interesting match as these teams look evenly matched on paper.

Gujarat Lions will play their home games in Saurashtra Cricket Association Stadium, Rajkot. However, the venue for the last two home games is yet to be confirmed. This is the first time that we see a team from Gujarat in IPL. Fans back in Gujrat will turn up in huge numbers to support their team in IPL 2016.

Let us shed some light on Gujarat’s schedule for IPL 2016.

Date	Draw	Venue
April 11, 2016	Kings XI Punjab vs Gujarat Lions	Punjab Cricket Association Stadium, Mohali
April 14, 2016	Gujarat Lions vs Rising Pune Supergiants	Saurashtra Cricket Association Stadium, Rajkot
April 16, 2016	Mumbai Indians vs Gujarat Lions	Wankhede Stadium , Mumbai
April 21, 2016	Gujarat Lions vs Sunrisers Hyderabad	Saurashtra Cricket Association Stadium, Rajkot
April 24, 2016	Gujarat Lions vs Royal Challengers Bangalore	Saurashtra Cricket Association Stadium, Rajkot
April 27, 2016	Delhi daredevils vs Gujarat Lions	Feroz Shah Kotla, Delhi
April 29, 2016	Rising Pune Supergiants vs Gujarat Lions	MCA International Stadium, Pune
May 1, 2016	Gujarat Lions vs Kings XI Punjab	Saurashtra Cricket Association Stadium, Rajkot
May 3, 2016	Gujarat Lions vs Delhi Daredevils	Saurashtra Cricket Association Stadium, Rajkot
May 6, 2016	Sunrisers Hyderabad vs Gujarat Lions	Rajiv Gandhi International Cricket Stadium, Hyderabad
May 8, 2016	Kolkata Knight Riders vs Gujarat Lions	Eden Gardens, Kolkata
May 14, 2016	Royal Challengers Bangalore vs Gujarat Lions	M. Chinnaswamy Stadium, Bengaluru
May 19, 2016	Gujarat Lions vs Kolkata Knight Riders	TBC, TBC
May 21, 2016	Gujarat Lions vs Mumbai Indians	TBC, TBC

TBC – To be confirmed.

IPL 2016 auction was on February 6, 2016. Gujarat Lions being one of the new teams that is set to enter the IPL this year had a very busy outing on auction day.

They have grabbed a few key players. Here is Gujarat’s complete squad for IPL 2016

Gujarat Lions Squad for IPL 2016
Name	Role
Suresh Raina (Captain)	Batsman
Aaron Finch*	Batsman
Paras Dogra	Batsman
Umang Sharma	Batsman
Akshdeep Nath	Batsman
Jaydev Shah	Batsman
Dwayne Smith*	Batting All-rounder
Ravindra Jadeja	All-rounder
James Faulkner*	All-rounder
Dwayne Bravo*	All-rounder
Brendon McCullum*	Wicketkeeper Batsman
Dinesh Karthik	Wicketkeeper Batsman
Ishan Kishan	Wicketkeeper
Ekalavya Dwivedi	Wicketkeeper
Dale Steyn*	Bowler
Andrew Tye*	Bowler
Praveen Kumar	Bowler
Amit Mishra	Bowler
Pravin Tambe	Bowler
Dhawal Kulkarni	Bowler
Pradeep Sangwan	Bowler
Shadab Jakati	Bowler
Shivil Kaushik	Bowler
Sarabjit Ladda	Bowler

* indicates overseas player.

Suresh Raina will captain Gujarat Lions. Brendon McCullum from New Zealand will be vital for Gujarat’s success in IPL 2016.

They have plenty of firepower in the form of Aaron Finch, Dwayne Smith, Dwayne Bravo and James Faulkner. These players can help the team to win just about any match.

Coming to the Indian players group, they have Ravindra Jadeja, Dinesh Karthik. Jadeja and Raina have played for Chennai Super Kings. Their chemistry should work well for Gujarat Lions. They have some experienced spinner in Pravin Tambe. Tambe had a great outing with Rajasthan Royals. He would hope that the same would continue this time around as well.

In the pace department, they have Dale Steyn and Praveen Kumar. They both will likely be the new-ball bowlers for this new franchise.

They have tremendous overseas talent, selecting the best combination for each match should be a tough call for both Suresh Raina and Brad Hodge (coach).

Looking at the squad, they have great chances of reaching the play-offs of IPL 2016. With enough luck, they might even lift the cup.