Mumbai: The Indian Premier League draft held in Mumbai on Tuesday dispelled any doubts that India’s limited-overs captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni’s aura was on the wane as he emerged as the top draw with the Sanjeev Goenka-owned Pune franchise opting to pick him first for the stipulated price of Rs 12.5 crore.
MSD’s India teammate Suresh Raina was the first pick for the other new team, Rajkot, owned by Intex Mobiles. He will also get Rs 12.5 crore by virtue of being the first player selected by the franchise.
Seven players of the suspended Chennai Super Kings, including Dhoni, were picked along with three others from the Rajasthan Royals, also banned from the league for two years.
In-form India batsman Ajinkya Rahane was the second choice for Pune, while Rajkot opted for Ravindra Jadeja in the same position.
Both players will be entitled to a purse of Rs 9.5 crore per year. The draft process was necessitated following the suspension of Chennai Super Kings and Rajasthan Royals from the IPL for two years in the wake of the 2013 spot-fixing and betting scandal.
The suspension was ordered by the Supreme Court-appointed Justice (retd.) R.M. Lodha committee, which was formed to decide the quantum of punishment following the investigations.
Off-spinner Ravi-chandran Ashwin was picked by Pune as their third choice and will get a purse of Rs 7.5 crore. New Zealand captain Brendon McCullum was Rajkot’s choice.
In the fourth spot, both the teams opted Australians with Steve Smith (Rs 5.5 crore) going to Pune and James Faulkner (Rs 5.5 crore) going to Rajkot.
Pune opted for South African batsman Faf du Plessis as their fifth and final player, while West Indian Dwayne Bravo was Rajkot’s pick. Both players will get Rs 4 crore. The draft pool only included players from CSK and RR the two teams which have been barred from participation. The players not picked will now go to the general IPL auction scheduled for February 6. Out of this lot, Rahane, Faulkner and Smith had represented the Royals last year while the rest belonged to Super Kings. A total of 50 players from both suspended teams were available to be chosen in the draft.
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