4 players who played for Rising Pune Supergiant in 2017 and will play for CSK in IPL 2023

The IPL 2023 Auction took place on December 23 in Kochi. The 10 IPL teams stacked up their squads by signing some world-class talents at the mini auction. England all-rounder Sam Curran was the most expensive player of the IPL 2023 Auction. The Punjab Kings spent ₹18.5 crore to sign the pace-bowling star.

Apart from that, the Mumbai Indians splurged ₹17.5 crore to recruit Cameron Green, while Chennai Super Kings (CSK) signed Ben Stokes for ₹16.25 crore. It was a memorable day for the three pace-bowling all-rounders as they now own the most expensive contracts in IPL history.

Speaking of Stokes joining the Chennai Super Kings franchise for IPL 2023, the England all-rounder will reunite with his three former Rising Pune Supergiant (RPS) teammates at the CSK camp. On that note, here is a list of the four players who played for RPS in 2017 and will represent CSK in IPL 2023.

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#1 Ben Stokes

As mentioned earlier, Ben Stokes has joined the Chennai Super Kings team. Many IPL fans will remember Stokes playing his first IPL season for the Rising Pune Supergiant back in 2017. He was the Most Valuable Player of the Season that year.

As far as his numbers from IPL 2017 are concerned, Stokes played 12 games, scoring 316 runs at an average of 31.60. His highest score in that season was 103*, while his strike rate was 142.99.

In the bowling department, Stokes scalped 12 wickets at an economy rate of 7.18. CSK fans will hope that the England all-rounder replicates his IPL 2017 heroics in the yellow jersey next season.

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#2 MS Dhoni

MS Dhoni was the wicket-keeper for the Rising Pune Supergiant team in IPL 2017. He was the team's skipper in 2016, but the owners sacked him from that position after RPS failed to qualify for the playoffs in their debut season. Steve Smith replaced Dhoni as the captain.

Dhoni played 16 matches for Pune in 2017, aggregating 290 runs at a strike rate of 116. His highest score in that season was 61*. The wicket-keeper batter returned to Chennai Super Kings in 2018.

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#3 Deepak Chahar

Deepak Chahar made his debut for the Rising Pune Supergiant team in 2016. He remained a part of the Pune-based franchise in 2017 as well before moving to the Chennai Super Kings in 2018.

Speaking of Chahar's performance in IPL 2017, he scalped one wicket in three matches at an economy rate of 10.57. The all-rounder missed IPL 2022 but has been retained by CSK for IPL 2023.

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#4 Ajinkya Rahane

Ajinkya Rahane was one of the players signed by the Chennai Super Kings at the IPL 2023 Auction. CSK roped him in at his base price of ₹50 lakh. Like Deepak Chahar, MS Dhoni and Ben Stokes, Rahane donned the Rising Pune Supergiant jersey in 2017.

He had a decent outing in IPL 2017 as he aggregated 382 runs in 16 innings at a strike rate of 118.27. It looks like Rahane will be a backup opener for Chennai Super Kings in IPL 2023. The veteran batter will be keen to make the most out of the opportunities that he receives.