IPL 2017: Rising Pune Supergiants’ best possible XI

Fast Bowlers

Jaydev Unadkat, Ashok Dinda

32 wickets from 35 matches and a journey that has mostly seen stop and start events, Jaydev Unadkat should get an opportunity early in the tournament. Unadkat’s ability to pitch the ball in the right area and exploit the conditions makes him a potent bowler. He will compete with  Shardul Thakur for a place in the XI, and if experience is something to go by, Unadkat will come in as Steve Smith’s first choice at the start of Supergiants campaign.

Spirited fast bowler Ashok Dinda brings in the x-factor in this XI. He can unsettle the openers with his pace and come back to uproot the settled batter’s stick at the fag end of the innings. He picked up 11 wickets from 9 matches at an average of 21.00 last season, and that performance will pin a hope in the upcoming season.

Possible Replacements

The squad doesn’t lack a spark and is expected to make an impression this time around. The top looks pretty settled and the only switch could be between Baba Aparajith and Bengal’s Manoj Tiwary. Tiwary missed out in the last season and will be desperate to grab his chances this time around. With the presence of Usman Khawaja in the lineup, it will be interesting to see if he gets a look and at the expense of whom.

With the exit of Australian all-rounder Mitch Marsh, the spotlight falls on Daniel Christian. The team will heavily depend on their latest purchase Ben Stokes, but if the paddles fall off mid season then Christian will be shouldering the all-round responsibility for the Supergiants. Indian veteran Rajat Bhatia’s all-round skills might also enter the picture if they decide to drop a lower order batsman from the lineup.

Shardul Thakur might be roped into the XI if the experienced campaigners fail to make their case. The Pune side will also enjoy the service of Ishwar Pandey, another promising fast bowler. Overall the squad looks balanced on papers and all they need to do now is fire it up on the 22 yards.

Rising Pune Supergiant’s final squad for IPL 2017:

Steven Smith (C), MS Dhoni Usman Khawaja, Adam Zampa, Ajinkya Rahane, Ankit Sharma, Ankush Bains, Ashok Dinda, B Aparajith, Ben Stokes, Daniel Christian, Deepak Chahar, Faf du Plessis, Ishwar Pandey, Jaskaran Singh, Jaydev Unadkat, Lockie Ferguson, Manoj Tiwary, Mayank Agarwal, Milind Tandon, Rahul Tripathi, Rahul Chahar, Rajat Bhatia, R Ashwin, Shardul Thakur