Intex names Rajkot IPL team Gujarat Lions
Gujarat Lions will be led by Suresh Raina as captain
New Delhi: Mobile phone maker Intex Technologies (India) Ltd, which owns the Rajkot franchisee in the Indian Premier League (IPL), on Tuesday said it has named the team Gujarat Lions. The team will be led by Suresh Raina as captain.
Gujarat Lions and Kolkata-based R.P.-Sanjiv Goenka group owned Rising Pune Supergiants are the two new additions to the ninth edition of IPL. The tournament will be played between 9 April and 29 May.
“Gujarat as a state has a rich cricketing history with a passion and commitment to the game that is unmatched. We have named our team Gujarat Lions to try and capture the spirit of Gujarat which has a rich cricketing history. The name brings instant connect with fans not just across the state but across the world," Keshav Bansal, owner, Gujarat Lions, and director, Intex Technologies.
Gujarat Lions also announced Brad Hodge as its coach. Other key players in the team include Ravindra Jadeja, Brendon McCullum, James Faulkner and Dwayne Bravo. Arvinder Singh has been appointed as the chief executive officer of the team.
Intex also unveiled the team logo featuring a roaring lion in golden, yellow and hues of red. Intex has got the team for initial two years, and Bansal does not see scope to make money. “I don’t see any scope of breaking even in these two years, but we’ll work on minimizing losses," Bansal said in an interview in December after he bought the team.
Intex and R.P.-Sanjiv Goenka group bought Rajkot and Pune franchisees replacing Chennai Super Kings and Rajasthan Royals, which will return to the tournament after serving a two-year suspension in connection with the 2013 spot-fixing and betting scandal in IPL.
Rising Pune Supergiants team will have Mahendra Singh Dhoni, India’s limited over skipper as its captain for this year’s tournament.
Intex bought Rajkot franchisee for ₹ 10 crore and R.P.-Sanjiv Goenka group company New Rising bagged Pune IPL franchisee for ₹ 16 crore in December.
Besides owning the Gujarat Lions IPL team, Intex has also taken on-air advertising spots with official broadcaster Sony during the tournament.
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