IPL 2016 Predicted XI Rising Pune Supergiants
Ever since it was announced that Rising Pune Supergiants were going to be one of the two new teams, the excitement surrounding who they would play began. And when they picked MS Dhoni as their first pick in the IPL draft for the two teams and announced Stephen Fleming as the coach, it became clear that they were trying to replicate the CSK model in Pune.
Also read: VIVO IPL 2016 New Teams: All you need to know about Gujarat Lions and Rising Pune Supergiants
With several marquee players and international captains like Faf du Plessis, Steven Smith and Dhoni, it will be interesting to see who they pick to start the opener against Mumbai Indians on Saturday.
Also read: IPL 2016 Highest Paid Players, Full List of IPL Season 9 Player Salaries
Here is the predicted XI for Rising Pune Supergiants:
Ajinkya Rahane
Ajinkya Rahane may not be a first-choice opener for India but that should take nothing away from just how good he is, when it comes to opening the batting in the IPL. Playing for Rajasthan Royals and Mumbai Indians, Rahane has scored more than 2,000 runs at an average of 33.76 and a strike rate of almost 120.
Although he is not as destructive as someone like Brendon McCullum, he has a vast array of shots and makes use of placement and timing to pick up his runs. As the World T20 showed, you don't have to be big and strong to score runs and Rahane will be hoping to continue his impressive IPL track record to the Rising Pune Supergiants and get them off to a good start.