The Indian Premier League is by far the most popular cricket tournament when it comes to league cricket. There is no other league which comes close to the IPL and the key reason behind is that the BCCI has framed the IPL in such a manner that none of the other countries can match it. The IPL is the only league in the world where the active Indian cricketers play together with foreign cricketers.
Since India has become a cricketing powerhouse, none of the other nations can match the finances involved in the IPL. Speaking of IPL, there was a team named the Rising Pune Supergiant, a franchise for which MS Dhoni played for two years. Although Pune did not achieve much success under Dhoni’s captaincy, they made it to the final of IPL 2017 under Steve Smith’s guidance.
There were a few new players in the team, and here’s a look at the five players who turned up for RPS in the league and then after RPS exited in 2018, none of the other teams signed them.
5.George Bailey
Former Australian T20 captain George Bailey had helped the Kings XI Punjab reach their only IPL final in 2014. However, since Punjab could not continue their form in the 2015 season, the team management released him from the franchise.
Bailey went unsold in the IPL Auction 2016, and then, after Faf du Plessis picked up an injury during the tournament, Rising Pune Supergiant signed him as a replacement. The right-handed batsman scored just 84 runs in six games, at an average of 21. His strike rate was just 85.71 in the season.
4.Scott Boland
Another name from Australia to feature on this list is Scott Boland. The right-arm fast medium bowler earned a contract from Rising Pune Supergiant in the 2016 season. However, he could not impress much in that season.
RPS included Boland in their playing XI for two matches. The right-arm pacer went wicketless on his debut against the Mumbai Indians. In the next match against Delhi Capitals, Boland picked up two wickets, namely Sanju Samson and Carlos Brathwaite. Unfortunately, the team then replaced him with Adam Zampa in the XI.
3.Rajat Bhatia
Rajat Bhatia had made a name for himself with his brilliant performances for the Kolkata Knight Riders in the IPL. He even played for the Delhi Capitals and the Rajasthan Royals before earning a contract from the Rising Pune Supergiant.
Bhatia played 13 matches for Pune, aggregating 50 runs at a strike rate of 135.14. He also picked up eight wickets with the ball, but after RPS, no other franchise showed interest in the all-rounder’s services.
2.Ashok Dinda
Former Indian right-arm pace bowler Ashok Dinda played for five franchises in his IPL career. He played for Kolkata Knight Riders, Royal Challengers Bangalore, Delhi Capitals, and Pune Warriors before joining the Rising Pune Supergiant team.
Dinda appeared in 12 games for the Pune-based franchise. He scalped 12 wickets at an economy rate of 8.64. After Rising Pune Supergiant got disbanded, Dinda could not earn an IPL deal.
1.Peter Handscomb
A promising right-handed top-order batsman from Australia, Peter Handscomb played his only IPL season for the Rising Pune Supergiant in 2016. Handscomb scored just six runs in the only inning that he batted.
He made his debut in the match against the Gujarat Lions. However, he did not get a chance to bat. Playing against Mumbai Indians at the MCA Stadium, Handscomb scored six runs off 12 deliveries before Harbhajan Singh sent him back to the pavilion.
