Not long ago, we saw a rare emotional side of Rising Pune Supergiants skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni, when he was quizzed on about playing for a different team after spending eight years with Chennai Super Kings.
less than a week later, his former teammate from 'now-defunct' CSK, Suresh Raina on Saturday also echoed a similar feeling on his difficulties to move on from the Tamil Nadu's capital side.
The swashbuckling left hander said, "I have mentioned it so many times that it's not going to be easy moving on after eight years. It will be difficult for me to play for Gujarat. Gujarat has never had an IPl team and we are not here for only two years. We look to stay here for longer period of time. I have played every single game with CSK non-stop, so it will be tough to move on but at the same time we have a very good team here at Gujarat lions.
"But as a professional, I would like to thank the Pune team for taking me. Of course there will be added responsibility as captain but as a professional we are supposed to do the job with more than 100 hundred percent commitment. And that is what we will try to do," said the batsman.
Gujarat, who come into the league, along with Rising Pune Superginats — following the suspension of twin former champions Rajasthan Royals (RR) and CSK — are looking to perform well in their first edition of the cash rich league.
The team will be captained by aggressive left hander Suresh Raina and will be coached by veteran Australian player Brad Hodge, who was previously with Rajasthan Royals for two seasons.
Also, Zimbabwe legend bowler Heath Streak will be the bowling coach for Gujarat lions. Gujarat lions led by Raina also stars Indian all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja, New Zealander Brendon McCullum and West Indies all-rounder Dwayne Bravo, all of whom were a part of the suspended Chennai Super Kings before.
On the eve of the jersey unveiling, team owner Keshav Bansal was full of energy and made the press conference a laughter riot with his witty sense of humor. During one such incident, when the players of the Gujarat lions were being shown on the screen, Raina spontaneously said, "Isme Bravo (Dwayne) ke white daant dikh rahe hain." (His white teeth are visible so much) laughingly. He followed it by saying that as I was talking to Bravo a few days back, he (Bravo) said that he will miss Chennai's dosa, in reply Keshav said enough with the dosas, now I will make you eat Gujarati Theplas.
Brendon McCullum, popularly known as Baz, is playing his farewell Test match in his home town Christchurch against Australia. On Saturday, McCullum scored the fastest century in Test match of just 54 balls!
Asked if McCullum breaking a 30-year-old record of Sir Viv Richards (which he jointly shared with Misbah ul Haq) will make it easier for new generation of batsmen to have a shot at glory, Raina said:"I am very happy for McCullum but I hope that somebody from India can do it. I am happy that we have McCullum in Gujarat lions team. He is a fearless cricketer and we want players who will be playing fearless cricket."
Speaking at the launch of the Gujarat lions' team jersey, Raina said captaincy is just a designation and a number for him as he does not look at it as a vehicle for something bigger (Indian captaincy in limited overs format).
"Captaincy is just a designation for me. It is the performance that wins you matches. It is all about how one performs on a particular day. My job is simple. I have to deliver for the Gujarat lions. Right now, the focus is on Asia Cup, and then we have the World T20 and then come the IPl. We will have a camp in Gujarat with domestic players before IPl. It is important to have a balanced team with good domestic players."
Raina has no problems batting at No 4 in the Indian team despite being a No 3 batsman for CSK in the Indian Premier league.
"I don't see it as a problem as we have big hitters across all slots. Yuvraj Singh, Hardik Pandya can play big shots. It is important to now maintain a consistent performance graph from here till the World T20. After having a good show against Australia and Sri lanka and winning the admiration of skipper MS Dhoni, Hardik Pandya's performance was also appreciated by Raina.
"Pandya is a great all-rounder. I, along with Yuvraj, can also bowl well — so the Indian team is quite balanced. We have a good mix of youth and experience in our team. There are members of the 2007 World T20 team as well as the 2011 World Cup team. We are fortunate to have them." he signed off.