Rising Pune Supergiant joined the Indian Premier League in 2016 and finished runners-up in 2017. They exited the competition after the 2017 season, but now, the RPSG Group is back in the league as the new owners of the Lucknow team. Rising Pune Supergiant had many big names in their squad.
Incidentally, KL Rahul is likely to be Lucknow’s first IPL captain, and even Rising Pune Supergiant had an Indian wicket-keeper as their first captain. MS Dhoni led the Pune-based franchise in their first match which happened against the Mumbai Indians in 2016. RPS comfortably won that match by nine wickets, and in this article today, we will look at RPS first-ever playing XI and where those players are now.
Openers – Ajinkya Rahane and Faf du Plessis
The Indo-South African pair of Ajinkya Rahane and Faf du Plessis opened the innings for the RPS team in their first match. The duo had a 78-run opening partnership, where du Plessis scored 34 runs. Rahane remained unbeaten on 66 and helped RPS win the match. Both players are still actively playing cricket.
Middle Order – Kevin Pietersen, Steve Smith and MS Dhoni (C and WK)
England batter Kevin Pietersen and Australian batter Steve Smith were in the middle-order along with captain MS Dhoni. Only Pietersen, who has now retired, got a chance to bat and he scored 21 runs. Smith is still active in all formats of cricket, while Dhoni has retired from international cricket but is playing in the IPL.
All Rounders – Mitchell Marsh, Rajat Bhatia and Ravichandran Ashwin
Mitchell Marsh was the fourth overseas player. He bowled a brilliant spell of 2/21. Rajat Bhatia bowled four overs, conceded ten runs and took one wicket, while Ashwin returned with figures of 1/7 in the only over he bowled. Bhatia has now retired, while Ashwin and Marsh are actively playing all formats of cricket.
Bowlers – RP Singh, Ishant Sharma and Murugan Ashwin
RP Singh and Ishant Sharma opened the bowling for RPS. The two pacers took a total of three wickets but they had an expensive economy rate. Murugan Ashwin made his IPL debut and bagged one wicket while giving away 16 runs. Ashwin and Sharma are active in cricket, while Singh has retired and is working as cricket expert.
