Stephen Fleming expresses sadness at the RPS not featuring in IPL 2018
What’s the story?
Rising Pune Supergiant (RPS) head coach Stephen Fleming has expressed sadness at the franchise not being a part of the competition next year, adding that had that been the case, then the team would have surely been among the strongest to feature in the competition.
“At the start of the season, I had stressed on the importance of reading the conditions and, because we read them better than the rest, we were effective and competitive though we weren't star-studded or as packed with resources, especially towards the end of the tournament, as some other teams.
“There certainly is an element of sadness that this successful franchise, with so much time going into building relationships and players, will not come back next year.I have no doubt that if this unit were to be together next year, we'd be one of the stronger sides of the tournament,” the former New Zealand captain wrote in his column for the Times of India.
In case you didn’t know...
When the Chennai Super Kings and the Rajasthan Royals were suspended for 2 seasons in 2015, the Governing Council decided to bring in two new teams. One of those teams turned out to be the RPS, who along with the Gujarat Lions, were given the option of picking 5 players from each of the suspended teams.
In the first season, the Sanji Goenka-owned franchise just could not get the right combination, owing to several injuries to key players, but in the second season, thanks to a full-strength squad, they managed to string consistent performances and make it to the final, where they lost by 1 run to the Mumbai Indians.
The heart of the matter
Fleming further added that the performance of young Indian bowlers like Jasprit Bumrah and Hardik Pandya were some of the takeaways from the competition and noted that some of the fancied names did not quite lit up the stage, perhaps because they came into the competition on the back of a long home season, involving 13 Test matches.
Extra Cover: IPL 2017: The final saga that kept you on tenterhooks
What’s next?
When the Superkings do come back to the League next season, it would be interesting to see whether Fleming will be back coaching them. He has coached the side to two titles in the past and if he can get back most of the players that formed the core of the team a couple of seasons ago, then a shot at a third crown could be well worth a try.
Author’s take
With players like Steven Smith, Ben Stokes and others, in their ranks, the RPS certainly did resemble a formidable outfit. But with both Royals and Superkings returning next year, it seems difficult for them to stay in the competition.