IPL 2016: Dhoni and Ashwin to play for Pune, Suresh Rain and Jadeja for Rajkot
After Banning of IPL teams Chennai Super Kings and Rajasthan Royals teams from the IPL for two years regarding the 2013 spot fixing and betting case, the IPL board replaced with two new teams that are Pun and Rajkot. The draft pool process has been held today in Mumbai.
Pune franchise owned by Sanjeev Goenka opting to pick Mahendra Singh Dhoni first for the identical price of Rs. 12.5 Cr. Dhoni’s Chennai mates Suresh Rain picked by other franchise Rajkot, owned by Intex Mobiles. He will also get same identical price of Rs. 12.5 cr. And he is the first player selected by Rajkot team.
IPL New Teams Pune and Rajkot Picked their First Five Players
Indian batsman Ajinkya Rahane was the second choice for Pune with the price of 9.5 Cr, while Rajkot opted for Ravindra Jadeja for the same price. Off spinner Ashwin was picked by Pune franchise for Rs. 7.5 Cr, while New Zealand captain Brendon McCullum was for Rajkot’s team.
In the fourth spot both team opted Australian players Steve Smith for Pune and James Falkner for Rajkot. South Africa batsman Faf DuPlessis for Pune and West Indian Dwayan Bravo for Rajkot in fifth places. Both players will get Rs 4 Cr.
The Draft Pool includes only Chennai Super Kings and Rajasthan Royals players, which have banned from IPL. The players not picked here now will go to general IPL Auction starts from Feb 06th. The IPL 2016 is to be held from April 09th to May 29th.
Pune and Rajkot IPL Team Picks
| Pune Team | Rajkot Team |
| M. S. Dhoni (Rs. 12.5 Cr) | Suresh Raina (Rs. 12.5 Cr) |
| Ajinkya Rahane (Rs. 9.5 Cr) | Ravindra Jadeja (Rs. 9.5 Cr) |
| Ravichandran Ashwin (Rs. 7.5 Cr) | Brendon McCullum (Rs. 7.5 Cr) |
| Steven Smith (Rs. 5.5 Cr) | James Faulkner (Rs. 5.5 Cr) |
| Faf du Plessis (Rs. 4 Cr) | Dwayne Bravo (Rs. 4 Cr) |