Rising Pune Supergiants rope in Mayank Agarwal for IPL 2017

24-year-old hard-hitting opener Mayank Agarwal will represent Rising Pune Supergiants in the 2017 edition of the Indian Premier League. Agarwal was earlier bought by the Delhi Daredevils in the year 2014 after turning out for Royal Challengers Bangalore from 2011 to 2013. The attacking right-handed batsman had a mixed tenure with the Daredevils, scoring a mere 355 runs from 21 matches at an average of just about 17.75, with 2 fifties to his credit.

However, in the 2016 season, Agarwal played just three matches and scored 9, 10 and 8 at an average of 9. Delhi finished 6th in the team standings. MS Dhoni led Supergiants finished second-last during the last season of the IPL, and they were in desperate need of an explosive yet reliable opener, who could compliment Ajinkya Rahane at the top.

RPSG had used different combinations for the openings slot (South Africa’s Faf du Plessis, India’s Saurabh Tiwary and Australia’s Usman Khawaja). The fresh side was all at sea after losing their foreign imports- Kevin Pietersen, Faf du Plessis, Steve Smith and Mitchell Marsh mid-season last year.  Indian quicks R.P. Singh, Irfan Pathan and Ishant Sharma were too left off the hook, after a dismal show in the premier league last season. The Pune side

Indian quicks RP Singh, Irfan Pathan and Ishant Sharma were too left off the hook, after a dismal show in the premier league last season. The Pune side has retained Usman Khawaja and Faf du Plessis among others.

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The Delhi import can add some fuel to the fire packed side in the coming season and change their fortune for good. Agarwal’s rich run of form at the Karnataka Premier League must have caught the sight of the scouts. The stylish opener fetched 414 runs at a staggering average of 103.50 along with an impressive strike rate of 172.50 at the top. He also scored a century and three half-centuries playing for Belagavi Panthers. The trading window will be closed on 20th January, while the Indian Premier League is slated to begin on 4th April 2017