Just as the Lodha verdict came out imposing a ban on two heavily supported teams, Chennai Super Kings and Rajasthan Royals, mystery shrouded upon the fate of the players belonging to both the heavyweight sides.
Also read: Why CSK and RR won't be playing this IPL
However, BCCI came up with a strategy that led to the genesis of the two new teams in this year’s IPL list, the Rising Pune Super Giants(RPSG) and Gujarat Lions, to substitute the two tainted teams for the upcoming two years.
The Rising Pune Super Giants is owned by business tycoon Sanjeev Goenka and his company RP Sanjeev Goenka group. After the initial battle for purchasing the team, the Goenka led group bagged the side for a certain price. As they shelled out a sum higher than the Intex company owned Gujarat Lions, the Giants were given the first choice to select a player for forming their core squad.
Their first and obvious choice was India limited-overs skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni, who was chosen to herald the side for this year’s IPL, following which they turned towards Dhoni’s go-to bowler Ravichandran Ashwin before opting for Faf Du Plessis, Ajinkya Rahane and Steve Smith to form a visibly batting-centered core team.
With these picks, RPSG not only ensured that they had a fiery-batting line-up, they also roped in the experience of three international captains in their squad in MS Dhoni, Steve Smith and Faf Du Plessis, three players who captain the T20 squads of their respective countries.
Stephen Fleming was appointed as the coach, which adds a bit of a CSK-esque flavour to the squad.
How did the auctions go for them?
RPSG entered the auctions with a sum of 27 crores in their purse. The auctions sprang a major surprise from the Pune Giants squad as the amount spent for TN based spinner Ashwin Murugan was a whopping 4.5 crores against his base price of 10 lakhs.
Apart from that, the Giants made some good buys, opting for some seasoned campaigners in belligerent batsman Kevin Pietersen, all-rounders Thisara Perera, Albie Morkel and a young Australian contingent consisting of Mitchell Marsh, Adam Zampa, Scott Boland and wicket-keeper Peter Handscomb.
The Indians in the mix chosen were mainly bowlers with prominent names such as Ishant Sharma, Irfan Pathan, RP Singh and Ashoke Dinda joining the squad. The only capped Indian batsman bought was Saurabh Tiwary.
Batting Department: RPSG’s strength
The batting department looks very well settled with the likes of Rahane, Steve Smith, Faf Du Plessis, Kevin Pietersen and Dhoni providing acres of experience and a clean mixture of class and aggression in the ranks.
With Saurabh Tiwary also likely to make the cut, it will be interesting to see as to which of the four all-rounders feature in the middle order to play the finisher’s role alongside MS Dhoni.
Bowling department: RPSG’s weakness
With the player draft taking care of the batting department, the bowling department was the main area of concern for the Giants during the auction. They went in an all-out attempt to buy bowlers to back lead spinner Ravi Ashwin.
Four capped Indian fast bowlers were picked with uncapped players left to take care of the spin department. However, it just seems as if Pune might have missed a trick or two, with reference to the fact that they do not have any reliable bowler to lead the attack other than Ashwin.
With Dhoni donning a jersey other than that of CSK’s, it will be interesting to see how he captains the new-look Pune squad for the next two years.
Franchise Details
Owner: RP Sanjeev Goenka group
Captain: Mahendra Singh Dhoni
Home: Maharashtra Cricket Association stadium, Pune
History: Debutants
Rising Pune Super Giants squad 2016:
Indian players : MS Dhoni (Captain), Ajinkya Rahane, Ravichandran Ashwin, Ishant Sharma, Irfan Pathan, Rudra Pratap Singh, Ankit Sharma, Ishwar Pandey, Murugan Ashwin, Rajat Bhatia, Ashoke Dinda, Deepak Chahar, Baba Aparajith, Jaskaran Singh, Saurabh Tiwary.
Overseas players : Steven Smith (Australia), Faf Du Plessis (South Africa), Kevin Pietersen (England), Mitchell Marsh (Australia), Thisara Perera (Sri Lanka), Scott Boland (Australia), Peter Handscomb (Australia), Adam Zampa (Australia), Albie Morkel (South Africa).
RPSG’s schedule for IPL 9:
| Date | Opposition | Venue | Time |
| 9th April 2016 | Mumbai Indians | Wankhede Stadium, Mumbai | 20:00 |
14th April 2016 17th April 2016 | Gujarat Lions Kings XI Punjab | Saurashtra Cricket Association Stadium, Rajkot Punjab Cricket Association, Mohali | 20:00 20:00 |
| 22nd April 2016 | Royal Challengers Bangalore | MCA International Stadium, Pune | 20:00 |
| 24th April 2016 | Kolkata Knight Riders | MCA International Stadium, Pune | 20:00 |
| 26th April 2016 | Sunrisers Hyderababad | Rajiv Gandhi International Cricket Stadium, Hyderabad | 20:00 |
| 29th April 2016 | Gujarat Lions | MCA International Stadium, Pune | 20:00 |
| 1st May 2016 | Mumbai Indians | MCA International Stadium, Pune | 20:00 |
| 5th May 2016 | Delhi Daredevils | Ferozeshah Kotla, Delhi | 20:00 |
| 7th May 2016 | Royal Challengers Bangalore | M Chinnaswamy Stadium, Bangalore | 20:00 |
| 10th May 2016 | Sunrisers Hyderababad | MCA International Stadium, Pune | 20:00 |
| 14th May 2016 | Kolkata Knight Riders | Eden Gardens, Kolkata | 20:00 |
| 17th May 2016 | Delhi Daredevils | MCA International Stadium, Pune | 20:00 |
| 21st May 2016 | Kings XI Punjab | MCA International Stadium, Pune | 16:00 |
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