He was dropped as captain yet, he lifted them to the final
What happens when you ask the most successful captain in Indian cricket history to step aside? That's precisely what occurred in 2017, when Rising Pune Supergiant, following a forgettable debut season, stripped Mahendra Singh Dhoni of the captaincy and handed the reins to Steve Smith.
The move raised eyebrows. Dhoni had just relinquished India's ODI and T20 captaincy earlier that year. But this? This was different. This was personal. He hadn't stepped down; he was removed.
But rather than sulk, the man quietly put on his gloves, picked up his bat, and got down to business.
RPS didn't hit the ground running. After scraping past Mumbai in their opener, they suffered three defeats in their next four games—losing to KXIP, Delhi Daredevils, and Gujarat Lions. Andrew Tye's hat-trick for Gujarat was particularly bruising, and the team's morale wobbled.
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But just when critics sharpened their knives, something clicked. Against RCB in Bangalore, Pune turned the tables. With Manoj Tiwary's 11-ball 27 lighting up the death overs and Stokes leading a bowling masterclass (3/18), the tide began to turn.
Next came a heart-stopping finish against Sunrisers Hyderabad in Pune. Chasing 177, Rahul Tripathi chipped away early, but the chase wobbled. Then Dhoni stepped in. Unfazed, he unleashed a vintage 61 off 34 balls. It was fireworks wrapped in ice. RPS won on the last ball.
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The belief returned. Three nights later, Pune again edged out Mumbai by just three runs. Ben Stokes bowled a spell that turned the match on its head. Jaydev Unadkat backed him up with pinpoint yorkers. Mumbai, the tournament favourites, had now been beaten twice.
In the return leg, RPS hammered RCB by 61 runs. Ferguson, the Kiwi speedster, bowled like a man possessed — 2/7 in four overs. Imran Tahir spun webs, snaring three wickets.
Then came the Ben Stokes game. Gujarat Lions reduced RPS to 10/3. Stokes didn't flinch. He hammered a sensational 103* from 63 balls — his first T20 hundred — dragging his side across the finish line. It was a turning point. RPS had arrived.
Tripathi followed that up with a brutal 93 against KKR in Kolkata, single-handedly chasing down 156. Jaydev Unadkat then spun his own magic in Hyderabad with a five-wicket haul, including a hat-trick in the final over — and suddenly, RPS was in playoff contention.
A narrow seven-run loss to Delhi meant RPS had to win their last game to qualify. And they did it in style. Jaydev Unadkat was everywhere — first-ball wicket, direct-hit run-out, stunning catch, and 2/12. Kings XI were bundled out for 73. RPS cruised to victory. They were second on the table.
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Then came the knockout punch. Facing Mumbai in Qualifier 1 — and missing Stokes and Tahir — Pune posted 162, thanks to Tiwary's 58 and Dhoni's brutal last-over assault: 5 sixes, 26 balls, 40 unbeaten runs. It silenced the Wankhede.
With Sundar's off-spin choking Mumbai's chase (3/16), Pune stormed into the final. This marked their third straight win over Mumbai that season.
For all the drama and defiance that characterised Rising Pune Supergiant's 2017 campaign, the final twist was the cruellest. In a tense final in Hyderabad, they fell just one run short of clinching the trophy against Mumbai.
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Rising Pune Supergiant never played another season. However, in 2017, they gave us a story to remember — of silent revivals, unexpected heroes, and a dethroned king who refused to disappear.
He didn't sit on the throne.
He set the fire beneath it.
