IPL 10 Match 3 GL v KKR: Gujarat Lions Predicted XI

The Gujarat Lions will be hosting the Kolkata Knight Riders in their first home match of IPL 10 at Rajkot on April 7. In the previous edition of the tournament, there were two new franchises being drafted in. The Rising Pune Supergiant failed to get their act together and finished at the penultimate position in the points table. However, the other newbie – the Gujarat Lions – were very impressive with their show in the tournament.

Despite being a new side, they got their lineup and combinations spot to enter in the playoffs of the season. They missed out on making it to the finals but they will hope that they come up with an improved performance this season. They have a very strong overseas batting contingent and boast of a plethora of overseas openers – Brendon McCullum, Jason Roy, Dwayne Smith and Aaron Finch.

The injury concerns are there too with Dwayne Bravo and Ravindra Jadeja being out of the line up for at least the first few games. They will have to look for ideal replacements for both the players. They have all-rounders Andrew Tye and James Faulkner in their line up too. So the pool of players to pick from is huge and replacements picking should not be a concern. In the bowling department, they have a strong Indian bowling powerhouse to do majority of the talking.

Brendon McCullum

Hard hitting batsman Brendon McCullum retired from international cricket almost a year ago. However, he still continues to be a tormenting player in the shortest format of the game. He recently played in the Big Bash League for the Brisbane Heat and was one of the top performers for his side.

He is a value addition for sure for the fact that he can be a valuable asset in advising the skipper at key junctures. He was quite impressive in the previous edition for the Gujarat Lions. McCullum amassed 354 runs in the 16 matches that he played for the franchise with a strike rate of 135.11. He has been a perennial performer in the IPL and has played 92 matches for his 2434 runs with a century and two fifties to his name.

This year, he will be one of the seniormost players in the side and will have to shoulder responsibility at the top order. If he manages to give a flying start to the Lions, they will be well on course for a big total. He is equally dangerous in case the team bats second.