The Renegades were criticised in many quarters for their failure to reprimand Chris Gayle for his infamous ‘Don’t Blush Baby’ line to TV reporter Mel McLaughlin.

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While the franchise has done the right thing by cutting ties with the Caribbean lothario, both his runs and his aura are going to be difficult to replace.

With Aaron Finch woefully out of sorts in the Chappell-Hadlee Series, there are some serious question marks over their star power with the bat and it’ll be interesting to see how they utilise Cameron White in the tournament after he has been mooted with a return to the top of the order.

The red half of Melbourne will, however, be hoping to leave rivals in a spin after making two key acquisitions on the slow bowling front.

The ageless Brad Hogg has switched from the Scorchers while offie Sunil Narine joins fellow West Indian Dwayne Bravo (pictured above) in the line-up having undergone remedial work to address a suspect action.

Look for the Renegades to bat first wherever possible, post competitive totals and hand the game over to that miserly pair.

The Renegades are gifted an opportunity to get off to a flyer with two home games leading into their New Year’s Day clash with cross-town rivals the Stars but I couldn’t find a spot for them in the top four.

Unibet Odds: 6.00

Last Season: 5th

Prediction: 6th