Last year, no one expected the Gujarat Lions to do well. They were a new team and against the other established outfits, they were expected to struggle. But instead, the Lions breezed past the league stage to top the table. They faltered in the Qualifiers but they proved their point. But their second season starts with similar expectation – this time they have been laid low by the absence of Ravindra Jadeja and Dwayne Bravo. However, can they once again find a way to buck the trend?

Old Faces

Suresh Raina: He has a point to prove. The ‘reluctant cricketer’ is more than capable of carrying this team but he will have to go beyond the cameos and take the lead role. He scored 399 runs in the last season but will need to go big this time round.

Aaron Finch: The Australia opener can provide solidity at the top of the order. He can also – if the mood takes him – destroy the opposition.

Dhawal Kulkarni: His bowling form last season was superb. With 18 wickets, the Mumbai paceman topped the table for Gujarat and also got them through some very tough times.

Dwayne Bravo: The maverick West Indian can win the match with bat or ball, but his bowling at the death continues to be outstanding. He will miss the first half of the tournament, however, and it will be up to the others to carry the team forward.

Dinesh Karthik: He is in good form and as his century in the Deodhar Trophy final showed, he still is capable of producing the star turn.

Ravindra Jadeja: He has been the allround star of India’s domestic season. He can bat, he can bowl and the confidence he would have gained will make him even better.

New faces

Jason Roy: The England opener can bat and when given the license to go absolutely nuts, he can deliver win after win. Alongwith Finch, he could give the Lions a huge boost at the top of the order.

Nathu Singh: At the 2016 auction, the Rajasthan fast bowler netted Rs. 3.2 crore but an injury robbed him of the opportunity to shine. However, with Gujarat Lions signing him Rs 80 lakhs, he will have a chance to show just how good he can really be.

Strengths

There was not one standout performer for Gujarat last season. But it also meant that everyone did their bit for the team. Five batsmen scored over 300 runs last season and that is what made them deadly – teams just didn’t know who would stand up and score runs.

Weaknesses

With Bravo missing, Nathu Singh may need to step in. But the bowling will need to step up big time. It might be hard to see Dhawal Kulkarni repeat last year’s magic but if Gujarat want to go deep, he will have to do just that.

Prediction

Another run to the Qualifiers.

X-Factor

Ravindra Jadeja. He has had a long season but given the kind of season, he has had… nothing is beyond ‘Sir.’

Full squad

Suresh Raina, Ravindra Jadeja, Dwayne Smith, Dwayne Bravo, Brendon McCullum, James Faulkner, Aaron Finch, Manpreet Gony, Ishan Kishan, Shadab Jakati, Dinesh Karthik, Chirag Suri, Shivil Kaushik, Dhawal Kulkarni, Praveen Kumar, Munaf Patel, Pratham Singh, Jason Roy, Pradeep Sangwan, Jaydev Shah, Shelley Shaurya, Nathu Singh, Tejas Baroka, Andrew Tye, Akshdeep Nath, Shubham Agarwal and Basil Thampi.

Coach: Brad Hodge

Bowling coach: Heath Streak

Asst Coach: Mohammad Kaif