Talking points from IPL players’ draft

Mumbai: The much-talked about IPL Player Draft took place in Mumbai on Tuesday with the new sides - Sanjeev Goenka’s New Rising Pune and Intex Rajkot picking five players each.

While it was no surprise that Pune picked MS Dhoni as their first player in the draft, there were quite a few firsts.

1) Dhoni-Raina partnership broken

New Rising Pune picked MS Dhoni as their first player in the draft while Intex Rajkot opted for Suresh Raina.

This meant that Dhoni and Raina won’t feature for the same side in the Indian Premier League since its inception in 2008. The duo have always played together for the now-suspended Chennai Super Kings.

2) Rahane's first time under Dhoni

New Rising Pune went ahead with Rahane after Rajkot picked Raina as their first player.

While Ajinkya Rahane’s shot to fame - apart from his solid performance in Ranji cricket - came after he started representing Rajasthan Royals, the pillar of India’s middle order had largely been a two-team man – Mumbai Indians and Rajasthan Royals.

This will be the first time when Rahane will play under MS Dhoni’s leadership in IPL.

3) Steve Smith's second stint at Pune

After drafting in Dhoni, Sanjeev Goenka-owned Pune side picked Steve Smith to add more strength to their team. This will be the second time when one of the best batsmen from the current crop of cricketers, Smith will represent a Pune-based IPL team. The Australian skipper had earlier played for the Subrata Roy-owned Pune Warriors India. The team was banned after one season.

4) Watson could not make the cut

While Shane Watson revelled at Rajasthan Royals, eventually leading the side, the Australian all-rounder could not make the cut in the list ten players that were drafted in the two new IPL teams.

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