IPL 2016, Peter Handscomb: All you need to know about Rising Pune Supergiants and Aussie opener

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The injury to Faf du Plessis has presented MS Dhoni with a headache. Fortunately for Captain Cool, he has the solution to that headache too – Usman Khawaja has been drafted in for the rest of the IPL. Chances are, however, that the left-handed Aussie will not be able to play today’s game. Enter into the scene Peter Handscomb, a pretty unknown name in the international circles, but having the potential to do wonders for Rising Pune Supergiants.

Here are 10 things you need to know about the wicketkeeper opener Peter Handscomb:

1. Peter Handscomb is a talented right handed batsmen and wicket-keeper. He plays for the Melbourne Stars at the Big Bash League.
2. Handscomb also holds British citizenship, with both of his parents being English immigrants to Australia. He has also played English club cricket for Tring Park, as well as several matches for Leicestershire in the Second XI Championship.
3. He had been a junior tennis player before he signed for Victoria U-17s.
4. Handscomb has represented Australia’s U-19 Team in 2009.
5. He made his first calss debut for Victorial in October, 2011, scoring a brilliant 71 off 212 balls aganst Queensland. The knock was praised by critics for its gritty nature.

Peter Handscomb’s Batting and Fielding Statistics:

	Mat	Inns	NO	Runs	HS	Ave	SR	100	50	4s	6s	Ct	St
First-class	55	91	5	3225	137	37.50	52.24	7	21	402	8	85	4
List A	38	34	8	910	72	35.00	73.74	0	5	68	11	34	2
Twenty20	33	28	12	454	103*	28.37	114.07	1	1	28	11	17	4

6. During this season’s Big Bash League in which he kept wickets in all but one game, he notched up the record for the highest dismissals by a wicketkeeper – 13 dismissals.

7. His best knock in T20s was in Big Bash 4, where he came to the crease with his team down 8 for 2. He took the reins of the innings and scored a brilliant unbeaten innings of 103, scoring 14 runs in the last over, to take his team home.

8. Many Australian batsmen consider playing spin bowling as their Achilies Heel, but Handscomb is considered a very good player of spin.

9. His greatest asset is his never say die attitude. After going two consecutive years withought a first class century, Handscomb scored a massive 647 runs in the 2014-15 season, averaging 53.91 and scoring three centuries.

10. Stephen Fleming, the coach of Rising Pune Supergiants, considers him to be a great talent, and had hand-picked him for the IPL franchise.

“I was giving him opportunity at No.1, No.2 or No.3 prior to Marcus (Stoinis) coming along, and he was playing a role and wicketkeeping when Matt Wade was away. He was here, there and everywhere.” – Greg Shipperd

One thing is for sure – Peter is a a talented player and a future star, and time will tell how he does in the IPL. But the question remains – if he does brilliantly in his first match for RPS, what wil happen to Usman Khawaja?