The 2017 edition of the IPL is less than a couple of months away and the teams will begin their preparations soon. The motto of most of the teams will be to better their performance from the 2016 edition and it will be no different with the Rising Pune Supergiants, who finished seventh in their debut season.
That was also the first time MS Dhoni failed to take his team to the knockout stages in the IPL. This time, they will look to turn their fortunes around and finish in the top four.
Their preparation will start from the IPL auction that will take place in Bengaluru on February 20. The Pune franchise have released as many as 11 players ahead of the auction, the most by any team. They go into the auction with a purse of INR 17.5 crore and can buy a maximum of 10 players that includes four overseas professionals.
They have a lot to ponder on as they seek reinforcements in almost every department. Let us take a look at five players RPSG will look to buy in the upcoming auction.
Extra Cover: 5 potential biggest buys in the 2017 IPL auction
Honourable Mention: Ben Stokes
England all-rounder Ben Stokes is going into the IPL auction as the player most likely to fetch the highest bid. Almost all the teams will look to buy the Englishman and the case will be no different with Rising Pune Supergiants too.
It is a known fact that MS Dhoni likes to have all-rounders in his side, which is evident from the presence of Dwayne Bravo, Ravindra Jadeja and Albie Morkel in the playing XI at Chennai Super Kings. Going into the IPL auction, the team management have decided to retain Australia’s Mitchell Marsh as their only all-rounder.
Also read: 5 players Mumbai Indians will look to buy
They will surely look to acquire one more decent all-rounder ahead of the 2017 IPL and there is no one better than Stokes. The Englishman is exactly the kind of player Dhoni likes to have in his team as he can contribute to the team’s cause in all the three departments.
#1 Ishank Jaggi
Rising Pune Supergiants have the likes of Steve Smith, MS Dhoni, Faf du Plessis and Mitchell Marsh in the middle order. Apart from these names, they look short in the middle order and the team management will look to strengthen this area ahead of the 2017 IPL.
There are not many names available in the pool with the latest entrant, Ishank Jaggi looking the most likely candidate. Initially, Jaggi was not included in the list of players who would go under the hammer on February 20. However, after his heroics in the recently concluded Syed Mushtaq Ali T20 tournament, the governing council has added his name to the auction list with less than two days to go.
Jaggi has been a consistent performer in the Indian domestic circuit for a while and in the 2016-17 season, he was a revelation for Jharkhand. The right-hander is likely to fetch a good amount in the IPL auction and the Pune franchise will look to snap him as they need some reinforcements in the middle order.
#2 Martin Guptill
Last season, Pune had a few opening combinations but none of them were successful. The Ajinkya Rahane-Faf du Plessis opening combination was the best of the lot and the franchise has retained both the players ahead of the 2017 edition. They have also retained Usman Khawaja and traded Mayank Agarwal in from Delhi Daredevils.
Du Plessis has been a vital part of MS Dhoni’s sides in the IPL and in all likelihood, he will open the batting alongside Ajinkya Rahane in the upcoming edition as well. The only concern about this batting pair is that both these batsmen need time to get going, and the team management might consider demoting the South African batsman (he excels at No. 3 for South Africa).
In this case, Mayank, who is in terrific form, might open the batting with Rahane or the team's think-tank might go for an overseas player, who is capable of giving the team a flying start early in the innings.
There are a lot of overseas openers available in the auction with Jason Roy being the favourite to fetch the highest bid from this category. Pune have to buy a lot of players in the auction and in all likelihood, they will let Roy go as he will cost them a lot of money and they could turn their attention towards Martin Guptill instead.
Guptill is an experienced batsman in this format and can get the team off to a flying start in the powerplay, something that MS Dhoni's men really need. Having Guptill at the top of the order will also help Rahane play his natural game.
#3 Trent Boult
Rising Pune Supergiants have released the most number of players going into the auction. The Sanjay Goenka-owned franchise lack depth in the fast bowling department as they have retained only Ashok Dinda and Ishwar Pandey as their frontline pacers. Apart from the experienced duo, they have also retained Deepak Chahar and Jaskaran Singh.
This clearly indicates that the team management will look to buy 2-3 good fast bowlers irrespective of where they are from. They have a decent pool of overseas pacers to choose from, with Kiwi pacer, Trent Boult being the favourite. Pune is coached by former New Zealand skipper Stephen Fleming, who might be influential in convincing the franchise to go for the left-arm fast bowler.
Boult was released by Sunrisers Hyderabad and without a doubt, he is one of the top attractions in the 2017 auction.
#4 Chris Jordan
There is no doubt that Rising Pune Supergiants will look to strengthen their pace bowling department as they lack someone who can spearhead their bowling attack. In all likelihood, Trent Boult will be the first-choice for the franchise and if they fail to buy the New Zealander, the team management could turn their attention to England pacer Chris Jordan.
Jordan was released by Royal Challengers Bangalore after the 2016 edition and is going into the IPL auction as one of the most sought after players. The Barbados-born English international will be a better choice than Boult as he can contribute to the team in all the three departments.
Pune do not have a bowler who is capable of bowling in the death overs and Jordan is someone who is considered a death-overs specialist. Apart from that, he is also a handy batsman who can score some quick runs down the order and is a safe fielder too, qualities that are needed to be successful in this format.
#5 Mohammad Nabi
Pune’s lower middle order looks fragile as they don’t have a batsman who can score some crucial runs down the order. They will look for a utility player who can contribute with both bat and ball, something that MS Dhoni prefers in this format.
In that case, the franchise won’t get a better name than former Afghanistan captain Mohammad Nabi, who can bring some much-needed balance to the team as he is equally good with both bat and ball.
The 32-year-old all-rounder is a veteran in this format and has scored 704 runs at an average of 17.6 in T20Is. He can be a useful number 7 or 8 for Pune as they don’t have good depth in the batting department. With the ball, he can be the perfect foil for R Ashwin and Adam Zampa as Nabi is a wicket-taking bowler who picks up a wicket every 17.8 deliveries and averages just above 20 with an economy of 6.88, something that is impressive for an off-spinner in the T20 format.
Nabi is currently ranked thirteenth and fourth in the ICC T20I rankings for bowlers and all-rounders respectively.
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