Mumbai pacer Shardul Thakur who earlier played for Kings XI Punjab has been acquired by Rising Pune Supergiants a month before the 10th edition of Indian Premier League begins on April 5.
Thakur was bought by Kings XI for Rs 20 lakh in 2014 but he played just one match in May 2015, leaking 38 runs and taking just 1 wicket in three overs that he bowled against Delhi Daredevils.
Earlier, RPS had also bought Delhi Daredevils’ batsman Mayank Agarwal, trying to boost their local players’ bench strength.
Ben Stokes is their best but till date after MS Dhoni
When the IPL auctions began, all the eyes were on Ben Stokes. More than two franchisees were after the England all-rounder but eventually it was Supergiants who got him for Rs 14.5 crore. With Ben Stokes in their playing XI, Supergiants have made sure that the team balance will always be maintained. Also, in Stokes, they have an effective hitter down the order alongside MS Dhoni.
RPS have roped in other Indian and international players as well, in form of Jaydev Unadkat, Rahul Chahar, Saurabh Kumar, Dan Christian, Milind Tandon, R Tripathi, Manoj Tiwary, Lockie Ferguson.
Last year a learning experience for the Pune franchisee as they ended up on the last position. This year, the franchisee is taking nothing for granted and this is the reason why they sacked MS Dhoni as the skipper, naming Australian captain Steven Smith as the new leader of the side.
RPS squad: Adam Zampa, Ajinkya Rahane, Ankit Sharma, Ankush Bains, Ashoke 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, Mitchell Marsh, MS Dhoni, Rahul Ajay Tripathi, Rahul Chahar, Rajat Bhatia, R Ashwin, Saurabh Kumar, Shardul Thakur, Steve Smith, Usman Khawaja.
