IPL Auction 2017: 5 players Rising Pune Supergiants will look to buy
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.