Bengaluru: For the first time in the history of IPL, Gujarat Lions’ skipper Suresh Raina is set to miss a game after nine years. Raina flew to The Netherlands to be with his Priyanka, with the couple expecting their first child.
With their campaign on course to cement their playoffs berth and away game against Royal Challengers Bangalore on Saturday, Lions coach Brad Hodge jokingly said, “He’s upstairs! No, he’s not coming. This is the first match he misses in IPL history. Probably likely Brendon McCullum will take the leadership role tomorrow. It’s a huge loss. Someone that’s scored close to 4000 runs in this tournament is a loss to our line-up.”
IPL debutants Lions have so far won seven out of 11 games but Hodge believes his side will look to sustain their momentum. “It’s not ideal being in a minus situation, but if we keep winning games, NRR (net run rate) comes out of the equation,” said the Aussie. Hodge was all praise for local lad and rookie chinaman bowler Shivil Kaushik. “He’s been outstanding. He’s a young man who’s come into the side with little experience. His work ethic has been outstanding, he’s taken on any sort of advice that’s been given to him. He’s still got some areas to improve,” opined Hodge.
Meanwhile, rivals RCB have a daunting task in hand and only a win will keep their hopes alive. “We have to win four out of four and we have nothing to lose really. This is now like the tournament knockouts because if we lose even one game, we’re out of contention,” said Yuzvendra Chahal. On the bowling woes he added, “Only Watson has been bowling well in the death. We have been giving away too many runs.”
