IPL 2022: 5 former Rising Pune Supergiant players who might be picked by Lucknow Super Giants

The IPL 2022 mega auction is a day away and the bidding war among the franchise for players will be one of the fascinating things about the mega event. Lucknow Super Giant and Gujarat Titans are the two new franchises to have joined the other eight teams. Lucknow has named their retentions for the IPL 2022 with KL Rahul (INR 17 crore), Marcus Stoinis (INR 9.2 crore) and Ravi Bishnoi (INR 4 crore).

Sanjiv Goenka’s RPS Group bought franchise with a 7090 Crore bid last year. The same RPS Group previously owned a franchise in 2016 and 2017, namely the Rising Pune Supergiants (RPS). The franchise managed to reach the finals in 2017 and a lot of youngsters from the team have gone on to become big.

The likes of MS Dhoni, Faf Du Plessis, Steve Smith had all represented the RPS in the past and the Lucknow Super Giant have purse money of INR 59.8 crores left for the mega auction. They could definitely rebuy a lot of players who have been part of the famous RPS for the Lucknow Super Giant in the upcoming mega auction.

Here are 5 RPS players who might be picked by LSG in IPL 2022 mega auction:

1. Deepak Chahar

Deepak Chahar made his IPL debut for the Rising Pune Supergiants in 2016 and he got to play just the two games in the season in which he did not pick up a wicket. He played a game extra in 2017 and managed to pick up just one wicket throughout his stint for the RPS side.

However, he was picked by the Chennai Super Kings side in the IPL 2018 mega auction and has gone on to become one of the best new-ball bowlers in IPL in the last four seasons. His all-around abilities were visible in the international circuit recently and he will be one of the most sought after players in the mega auction this year.

2. Washington Sundar

Washington Sundar made a mark for himself with his 2017 stint for the RPS side and was one of the key performers in taking his side to the finals of the edition.

He bowled with so much control with the new ball after coming into the side as a replacement for his statesmen, Ravichandran Ashwin and proved to be a game-changer. He finished with 8 wickets in 11 games in the season at a stunning economy rate of 6.16. He earned an Indian call up after his impressive stints and played for the RCB side till IPL 2021.

3. Shardul Thakur

Shardul Thakur was one of the bright prospects in the IPL 2017 for the RPS side as he had the knack of picking up wickets and bowled at good speeds too.

He turned some decisive games into the favour of his side and finished with 11 wickets in 12 games for the RPS side in 2017 at an economy rate of 8.25.  He was then picked up the Chennai Super Kings side in the IPL 2018 mega auction and accounted a lot for the two titles in the last four seasons for CSK.

4. Imran Tahir

Imran Tahir had played for the Delhi Daredevils side until the IPL 2016 and he came into the RPS side in 2017 which made a lot of difference. He had a dream season for the RPS side picking up 18 wickets in 12 games and helping them reach the finals.

He was the trump card for Steve Smith although MS Dhoni used him very wisely and took him into the CSK squad into the subsequent year’s mega auction. Over the years, Tahir has proved to be one of the toughest leg-spinners to face for the batters, and the 42-year-old is still making sure that he has the match fitness to play cricket.

5. Lockie Ferguson

Lockie Ferguson is one of the quickest bowlers going around the world and he can certainly nail the yorkers at will as well. The New Zealand speedster was part of the RPS squad in 2017 and managed to play just the four games in which he picked up three wickets at an economy rate of 7.15.

He was picked by the KKR side in the mega auction for IPL 2018 but did not play a lot of games for the franchise until the previous season. He picked up 13 wickets in eight games last season and looked very potent with the ball.