Franchise owner Keshav Bansal clarifies about the availability of Bravo and Ravindra Jadeja

Gujarat Lions, the latest team hit due to the injury spree prior to the 10^th edition of the IPL, are set to miss the services of Ravindra Jadeja and Dwayne Bravo for the first two weeks of the IPL. Bravo went under the knife after the hamstring injury he picked up during the recently concluded Big Bash League in Australia. Ravindra Jadeja, who went on to bowl over 4000 deliveries in the grand home season of 2016-17, will enjoy a well-earned break to recuperate from the workload and rejuvenate in time before the all-important Champions Trophy title defence in June.

In an interview with Sportskeeda, the owner of the Gujarat Lions franchise and an ardent supporter of the team, Keshav Bansal clarified the status of availability of players in the team. He declared that apart from the two all-rounders, the entire roster is fully fit ahead of their tournament opener against Kolkata Knight Riders on April 7.

Quoting the owner of the Lions, “Bravo had a hamstring injury a couple of months back and he is still recovering. He will be coming to Rajkot in the next seven days and we have deployed a dedicated fitness trainer for his recovery but he will most likely be missing the first leg of the IPL. Ravindra Jadeja has been rested for the first two weeks. He has some concerns about his finger.”

The BCCI granted rest to the premier left-handed spinner of the country after he cited some concern regarding his spinning fingers. Bravo also missed the 2nd edition of the Pakistan Super League, after he picked up the injury against the Perth Scorchers.

With the likes of Shivil Kaushik and Shadab Jakati, Gujarat would believe they can compensate for the absence of the star spinner. On the other hand, Gujarat Lions would thrive on their pace battery with the likes of Dhawal Kulkarni, Andrew Tye and Praveen Kumar.