Indian Premier League: Crisis-hit Rising Pune Supergiants sign former Kings XI Punjab skipper George Bailey

New Delhi: MS Dhoni's Rising Pune Supergiants on Monday signed up George Bailey as Faf du Plessis' replacement for the remainder of the Indian Premier League.

The Australian batsman was not picked up by any team at the IPL auction earlier in the year, which came as a shock to several experts.

In his previous IPL stints with Chennai Super Kings and Kings XI Punjab, the right-hander had in fact fared very well.

Apart from Du Plessis, RPS also lost Mitchell Marsh, Kevin Pietersen, Steve Smith to injury-related problems.

"Smith's [news] been a bummer. He was just coming into his own and this happened. It is a challenging time. Before we could settle down we lost the core group of players around whom you build a team around," Raghu Iyer, chief executive at Supergiants told ESPNCricinfo

"We lost four crucial players, but we are looking ahead. Bailey has tremendous experience and had a very successful season before last. He can contribute to the leadership group," he further added.

RPS have roped in Usman Khawaja as Pietersen's replacement, while cover for Marsh is yet to be announced.