More to Rising Pune Supergiant than a name change in 2017

A seventh-place finish in their maiden season of the Indian Premier League, understandably, didn't go down too well with the Rising Pune Supergiant's management. Change was inevitable, but the changes effected subsequently were a couple that were highly unanticipated; although, one more than the other. That, apart from the franchise making striking headlines in February for snapping up Ben Stokes, the England all-rounder, for a whopping record sum of INR. 14.5 crore - becoming the first franchise in the history of the IPL to shell out the highest sum for an overseas player.

For starters, the management of the Pune-based franchise decided to change the name of the team, relieving the Supergiants of the additional 's' at the close. They, however, stressed on the fact that superstition wasn't the prime reason for the change. "Last year we were looking at four to five players in the squad who had supergiant abilities. While we were preparing for this IPL, we thought why just a few players, the entire team is supergiant. So, that is why we decided to go with Supergiant this time," a spokesperson from the franchise explained at the time of the announcement.

The other change was just as unexpected, yet comprehensible. The Pune-based franchise decided to demote MS Dhoni from the position of captain, naming Australian Steve Smith as the skipper of the side for the upcoming season, citing the need for a young and fresh person in charge. Although Dhoni's numbers as captain are great, Smith's credentials as both, a captain, and a batsman, have elevated rather drastically in recent times.

After the recently-concluded four-match Test series between Australia and India that the hosts won 2-1, there was little question of the same. Not just was he in stellar form with the willow, having amassed 499 runs at an average of 71, but Smith brought a relatively inexperienced team, that was not given even a chance ahead of the series, together, and stamped his indelible mark on it, as Australia exceeded expectations by a mile, rising to the occasion.

The move was naturally, frowned upon by Dhoni enthusiasts, but franchise owner, Sanjiv Goenka, heaped praise on Smith. That Smith was booed off the ground during the second Test against India in Bengaluru following his 'brain-fade' moment that stirred up a controversy, did little to affect his opinion of the Australian skipper. "Steve inspires me as a leader," Goenka said. "Steve has a huge amount of enthusiasm in his leadership style. He's very engaged, he's very involved. He's very emotional about victory and I think he's passionate about performance," he said, before adding that Smith's involvement with the team leading into the IPL auctions impressed him endlessly.

"He was totally involved. He'd seen videos of players that he didn't know anything about. He did research," Goenka said. "He's very clear about what he wants to do and how he wants to do it. I've been very impressed with the way he's handled the Australian team over the last several months."

Dhoni has been someone who has successfully applied the spin choke over oppositions in the past, as seen over the years. Smith has proved his skill in utilisation of resources, having used his spinners, Steve O'Keefe and Nathan Lyon effectively, in the Test series. That Adam Zampa has played under Smith, helps, as the legspinner could play a vital role in Pune's campaign, given his success in last season's brief stint that saw him play five games, and return 12 wickets.

Ajinkya Rahane, who led India in the final Test of the series in the absence of Virat Kohli to injury, impressed on his captaincy debut. He could have been in contention to lead the side, as could have Faf du Plessis, but looks like the Pune management have their minds made up.

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Injuries were a concern for the Pune side last season, after having lost Mitchell Marsh early, Smith after eight innings, Faf du Plessis and Kevin Pietersen for the whole season. This season, however, even before the start of the season, they were dealt with a double blow. Firstly, Marsh was ruled out with a shoulder injury that he picked up in the Test series, for who, Imran Tahir was named replacement.

Ravichandran Ashwin's fatigue, following his workload in the home season where, since the start of India's home season in September - he bowled over 700 overs across 13 Tests - the most by an Indian bowler in a home season, was a cause for concern. However, he was eventually ruled out of the tenth edition of the tournament with a sports hernia injury as Pune lost two of their gun players.

Smith, himself, is carrying a side injury that is preventing him from bowling. This could be another season where Pune face injury-related problems, but they have more than a couple of able players in the side that could see them have a better season than their maiden one.

Strengths

Smith's form, with him running through a purple patch, is definitely going to hold the team in good stead. Rahane showed glimpses of form which boosts the batting. That in addition to having Du Plessis, Stokes and Dhoni in the ranks can only mean batting could be considered as one of Pune's strengths. Just like was seen in the previous season, where RPS were the third-best side in the death, scoring at a rate of 10.22, this side could see them at the top of that chart too.

Another aspect that will work for them is them being a side with gifted fielders, which will give them an edge in the field.

Weaknesses

Death bowling, and not being able to close games off - that was a problem Pune faced even last year which contributed to their dismal season. It could be a repeat this year with the absence of a specialist death bowler. Ashwin's non-availability too, comes as a big blow for Pune as they do not have a top Indian spin option to replace the No. 2 ranked Test bowler. Also, the absence of a specialist explosive opening batsman, with Rahane and du Plessis set to open the innings, could leave the middle order with a lot to do.

Opportunities

Lockie Ferguson might come in as a handy pace option, but given that he will play as an pure bowler, it would mean having to play a specialist Indian batsman. Dan Christian can give them the luxury of having an all-rounder, if they opt to pick him instead of the legspin duo.

A factor that bodes well for Pune in this aspect is that, while they have some fatigued players, they have some star players who are coming off breaks, like Stokes, who has had some time off since he partook in England's One-Day International against West Indies earlier in the month. Dhoni, who hasn't played international cricket since the ODIs against England, looked in great touch in the Vijay Hazare Trophy, scoring 330 runs in eight games, averaging 66 for Jharkhand.

Threats

Fatigue. Smith himself, has had a long season, missing out on only the Chappell-Hadlee series due to injury. Further, Stokes's absence after the league stage, ahead of the business end of the tournament when he has to pay heed to the call of national duty, puts them in a bit of a fix, given that they opted for an additional spinner instead of an all-rounder.

What the schedule holds

Pune kick-start their campaign against Mumbai Indians in Pune on April 6, before travelling to Indore for their clash against Kings XI Punjab. While the start of Pune's campaign has a bit of back and forth travel, the side would want to capitalise on the stretch of home games from April 26 to May 1 and pick up vital points before the fag end of the tournament, where they will face the likes of Kolkata Knight Riders and Sunrisers Hyderabad away from home. Having failed to have even qualified for the knockouts last season, Pune will hope the overhaul of more than just their side, will effect a reversal of fortunes.

Ideal starting XI: Ajinkya Rahane, Faf du Plessis, Steven Smith (c), Mayank Agarwal, Ben Stokes, MS Dhoni (wk), Rajat Bhatia, Ankit Sharma, Ashok Dinda, Adam Zampa/Imran Tahir, Shardul Thakur.