What's the story?
Rising Pune Supergiant are in a difficult situation prior to the start of the IPL as their premier spin bowler R Ashwin is ruled out of the 2017 IPL due to sports hernia. The franchise have already begun the process of looking for a replacement for the Indian offie and it was reported that Australian off-spinner Nathan Lyon could be in line to replace his Indian counterpart.
Now, it has been revealed that the franchise have called two local all-rounders, Indian international Parvez Rasool and Tamil Nadu’s teenage all-rounder Washington Sundar to attend a trial in Pune on April 2.
Extra cover: Aussie spinner Nathan Lyon could replace R Ashwin in the RPS squad
“Yes, both Rasool and Washington are expected to attend a trial with Pune today. Washington is young and was impressive in the recently concluded Vijay Hazare trophy and Deodhar trophy. Both these players have earned them this opportunity,” a reliable source close to the team said.
In case you didn’t know...
The tenth edition of the IPL is set to miss a lot of players due to injuries and one name that will be right there at the top of the absentee list will be RPS’ Indian off-spinner R Ashwin.
Ashwin, who suffered a sports hernia injury right after the end of England series, looked tired in the recently concluded series against Australia, and now it seems like the injury has reoccurred, which will keep the offie out of action for six to eight weeks.
It will be interesting to see whether Ashwin will be fit in time for the 2017 Champions Trophy in June. Last month, RPS all-rounder Mitchell Marsh was ruled out of the IPL 2017 due to a shoulder injury and the franchise roped in South Africa’s Imran Tahir as his replacement.
The details
Rasool, who has been a part of the IPL for the past few seasons, managed to play only 11 games in his IPL career with Sahara Pune Warriors, Sunrisers Hyderabad and Royal Challengers Bangalore. He has been a consistent performer in the domestic circuit and has represented India in ODIs and T20Is.
On the other hand, Washinton Sundar is a 17-year-old all-rounder from Tamil Nadu, who impressed everyone in the 2014 ICC under-19 World Cup as a 15-year-old. Sundar, who is a left-handed batsman and bowls right-arm off-spin, had a good domestic season for Tamil Nadu that saw them winning both the List A tournaments.
In those tournaments, Sundar picked up seven wickets in nine matches at an economy of 3.8.
Extra cover: Rising Pune Supergiant (RPS) unveil new jersey for IPL 2017
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Author’s Take
It is good to see that the franchise is looking for a local bowler to replace Ashwin rather than going for an overseas spinner. Rasool, who was unsold in the player auction, has proved his worth in the domestic circuit and couldn’t do much in the IPL and for India at the international stage.
Extra cover: Tamil Nadu's N Jagadeesan in line to replace injured KL Rahul in the RCB squad
Sundar has been very good in the recent past and deserves to be a part of an IPL team. This is a good opportunity for both the players and they will be hoping to grab the opportunity with both the hands.
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