IPL 2016: Team Rajkot named Gujarat Lions; Suresh Raina appointed skipper

Team Rajkot has been named the Gujarat Lions and the new franchise have appointed Suresh Raina as their skipper for IPL 2016. 

Gujarat Lions had the option of picking up five players in the IPL draft that took place on 15 December,  2015, from which they selected Raina, Ravindra Jadeja, Brendon McCullum, James Faulkner and Dwayne Bravo. 

Just like the other new franchise -- Rising Pune Supergiants, who named MS Dhoni as their skipper -- Gujarat Lions also decided to go with an Indian captain. 

The Gujarat Lions also named Australian veteran Brad Hodge as their coach. 

Team Rajkot and Team Pune are the two new teams, which will feature in the upcoming edition of the IPL. They will replace the suspended franchises -- Chennai Super Kings (CSK) and Rajasthan Royals (RR) -- for the next two seasons of the IPL.

The IPL 2016 player auction will be held on Saturday in Bengaluru. Other than the Delhi Daredevils, Gujarat Lions and Rising Pune Supergiants will have the maximum amount (Rs 37.5 crore) to spend on players during the auction. 

A total of 351 players will go under the hammer on Saturday. A maximum of 116 players can be picked from that auction pool. The teams will have to make their choices wisely. 

Check out some of the photos from the team launch event:

Here is the Gujarat Lions logo: