Rising Pune Supergiant entered the Indian Premier League after the BCCI suspended the Chennai Super Kings and the Rajasthan Royals for two years. Along with the Gujarat Lions, the Rising Pune Supergiant also joined the IPL. RPS was a part of the IPL for two years – 2016 and 2017.
MS Dhoni captained this franchise during the 2016 season. Pune had a brilliant squad, and they defeated defending champions Mumbai Indians in their first match. Unfortunately, injuries hit their campaign hard as Pune finished seventh. Next year, Steve Smith became the skipper and took the team to the grand finale.
Many stars came out from the Pune-based franchise. Here are the five players whose careers took off after playing for the Rising Pune Supergiant.
1. Washington Sundar
Tamil Nadu’s spin-bowling all-rounder Washington Sundar received his first IPL contract from RPS in 2017. The franchise signed him as the replacement player for Ravichandran Ashwin. Sundar impressed in his first season itself, picking up eight wickets for the team.
Pune included him in the playing XI for 11 matches. The highlight of his stint with the RPS was his brilliant economy rate of 6.17. Sundar had best figures of 3/16 while donning the Pune jersey. Soon, he broke into the Indian cricket team.
2. Rahul Tripathi
Rahul Tripathi has played for three IPL franchises in his career so far. However, no franchise used him the way Rising Pune Supergiant did. In just 14 matches, Tripathi scored 391 runs for the Steve Smith-led outfit.
He played a vital role in their journey to the IPL Final in 2017. Rahul had a phenomenal strike rate of 146.44. He also registered a couple of fifties for the team. In the recently-concluded IPL 2020, Tripathi played for the Kolkata Knight Riders.
3. Deepak Chahar
Deepak Chahar hails from Rajasthan. He was even a part of the Rajasthan Royals squad once upon a time. However, he came into the spotlight when he played for the Rising Pune Supergiant in the IPL. Chahar played five matches for RPS.
Although the right-arm pacer picked up only one wicket, he seemingly earned MS Dhoni’s attention. Later, Chahar became a part of the Chennai Super Kings and helped them win IPL 2018. Thus, joining RPS changed Deepak’s life.
4. Shardul Thakur
Another current Chennai Super Kings pacer who has become well-known after his stint with RPS is Shardul Thakur. The right-arm medium pacer himself admitted that moving from KXIP to RPS changed his career.
Playing for the Pune-based franchise, Shardul picked up 11 wickets in 12 matches. Later, MS Dhoni’s team CSK signed him, and Thakur soon received his maiden India call-up.
5. Lockie Ferguson
Lockie Ferguson is one of the most underrated players in international cricket right now. He has wrecked batting lineups across the world with his right-arm fast-bowling skills.
Ferguson played four matches for the Rising Pune Supergiant in 2017. He bowled a dream spell of 2/7 in four overs versus RCB, dismissing AB de Villiers and Stuart Binny. This spell marked Ferguson’s rise in the IPL. Recently, he played for the Kolkata Knight Riders, and in his first match in IPL 2020, he helped KKR defeat SRH in Abu Dhabi.
