Dhoni, Raina are no longer together

Mumbai, December 15

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India’s limited-overs captain MS Dhoni today emerged as the top draw in the IPL draft with Pune opting to pick him first. Dhoni’s India and Chennai Super Kings teammate Suresh Raina was the first preference for Rajkot, the other new team.

In all, seven players of the suspended Chennai Super Kings, including Dhoni, were picked along with three others from 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. Off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin was picked by Pune as their third choice, while New Zealand captain Brendon McCullum went to Rajkot.

For the fourth spot, both the teams opted for Australians — Steve Smith went to Pune and James Faulkner to Rajkot. Pune opted for South African batsman Faf du Plessis as their fifth player, while West Indian Dwayne Bravo was Rajkot’s last pick.

A total of 50 players from both the suspended teams were available to be chosen in the draft, but the teams could pick no more than five players each. The remaining players will now go to the players’ auction to be held on February 6, said IPL chairman Rajeev Shukla. “The salary of the players as per their contract with their former teams will be protected. The upper limit will be deducted from the total purse of Rs 66 crore. All this will be put up on the website,” Shukla said after the draft. Another BCCI source said the salary details will be revealed on the website after the first trading window closes on December 31.

Meanwhile, Pune franchise representative Subroto Talukdar said things went pretty much the way they had planned. “Whatever we had planned, we have got. We wanted Dhoni as we are a new franchise. We want to build our brand, and who better than Dhoni for doing that, “ he said.

Rajkot franchise owner Keshav Bansal also sounded pleased with his team’s picks. “We knew Dhoni will not be available. So Raina was a strong option,” he said. — PTI