Franchise XI · Retired franchise
Build the all-time Gujarat Lions XI
Gujarat Lions has 37 player-seasons across 2 years of Indian T20 history (2016–2017). Spin their seasons, draft eleven across the club's whole history within the 125 Cr purse, and simulate sixteen matches. Can the all-time Gujarat Lions XI go a perfect 16-0?
The club in the book
Gujarat Lions existed for exactly two seasons, 2016 and 2017, and for one glorious league stage they were the best team in the country — top of the 2016 table before the playoffs undid them. Their 29 playable seasons make up one of the smallest pools in the game, a two-year time capsule of a very specific team-building idea: batting names first, bowling later.
Fittingly, the shelf's highest-rated season is a bowler's anyway — Dhawal Kulkarni's 18-wicket 2016 at 3.8 Cr. Suresh Raina, the captain and franchise face, supplies the batting peak with 442 runs in 2017, though at 23.7 Cr the pool prices his fame fully. The value sits with Aaron Finch's 393-run 2016 at 1.9 Cr and Andrew Tye's 12 wickets in 2017 — including a hat-trick on debut — for the same money. Eleven good picks from 29 options: the Lions are a short, sharp puzzle.
Player-seasons to know
Dhawal Kulkarni · GL 2016
18 wickets at eco 7.42 · 3.8 Cr — The quiet engine of the table-toppers
Suresh Raina · GL 2017
442 runs at SR 144 · 23.7 Cr — The captain's peak, at franchise-face prices
Aaron Finch · GL 2016
393 runs at SR 131 · 1.9 Cr — The shelf's best batting value
Andrew Tye · GL 2017
12 wickets at eco 6.71 · 1.9 Cr — A debut hat-trick season for under two crore
Top all-time Gujarat Lions runs
Pos
Player
Result
Strength
Purse
01
Hemanth Varma
3–13
Strength62.3
Purse₹ 86.74 CR
02
Sultan_1327
3–13
Strength59.5
Purse₹ 84.27 CR
FAQ
How many Gujarat Lions player-seasons exist in the pool?
29 playable player-seasons across the club's two years, 2016 and 2017 — one of the smallest franchise pools in the game. The 2016 side topped the league stage before falling in the playoffs.
What is the best Gujarat Lions season in the game?
Dhawal Kulkarni's 2016 — 18 wickets at an economy of 7.42 for 3.8 Cr. On a team remembered for its batting names, the highest-rated season belonging to its unglamorous seamer is a very Play 16-0 kind of truth.
Why is the Lions draft one of the trickiest?
Twenty-nine options for eleven slots leaves almost no margin. The famous names are priced at their fame — Raina's 2017 costs 23.7 Cr — so a strong Lions XI leans on the cheap seasons: Finch, Tye, Kulkarni, and honest role players from a two-year window.