Pune in pole position to snare Dhoni :IPL

Mahendra Singh Dhoni has never featured in a T20 franchise game for any other team than Chennai Super Kings. On Tuesday, Dhoni’s team for the next two editions will be finalised as the two new Indian Premier League franchises pick their marquee players.

Following the two-year suspension of the Super Kings and Rajasthan Royals after being found guilty of breaching IPL regulations, new franchises from Pune (owned by New Rising) and Rajkot (Intex) have been roped in for the next two editions.

To make it easier for the new team owners to build a team, the IPL regulations had offered five players from both the suspended teams to each new owner before the auction. The player draft is scheduled to be held here on Tuesday.

Since the Pune franchise, owned by Sanjeev Goenka, had bid the lowest amount, it will have the first right to quote its preferred player from the list of 50 players who were on the roster of the Super Kings and Royals.

Then on, both the owners will quote their preferred player from the list of cricketers, which includes some of the most ferocious T20 cricketers.

While Pune is all but set to grab Dhoni, Rajkot is likely to snatch Ravindra Jadeja, the hometown hero of the Kathiawari city. It remains to be seen if both team owners decide to retain the core of Super Kings and Royals or prefer to mix and match.

The draft, likely to be over in 15 minutes, has only one precondition: No team can pick more than four capped Indian cricketers. While Chennai has nine Indians who have earned an international cap, Royals’ pool includes five in the capped bracket.

As per the regulations, a combined amount of Rs. 39 crore will be reduced from each new team’s auction purse of Rs. 66.15 crore. A value of Rs. 12.5 crore, Rs. 9.5 crore, Rs. 7.5 crore, Rs. 5.5 crore and Rs. 4 crore, respectively, will be deducted for each of the five players snatched by the teams. Once both teams zero in on the 10 players’ names, the remaining 40 players will be included in the auction pool for the player auction to be held in February.

The Draft Procedure

50 players, 25 each from Chennai Super Kings and Rajasthan Royals, will be available to be signed pre-auction for both the teams.
Pune being the lowest bidder during the team bidding last week will have the first right to claim a player.
Both teams, on an alternate basis, will be able to sign five players from the pool of 50. The five players of each team will be valued at Rs. 12.5 crore, Rs. 9.5 crore, Rs. 7.5 crore, Rs. 5.5 crore and Rs. 4 crore each
Pune franchise is likely to get its hands on Mahendra Singh Dhoni while Rajkot owners are likely to prefer hometown boy Ravindra Jadeja.
No team can sign more than four capped Indian players.
Some of the top players available for the draft include Dhoni, Jadeja, R. Ashwin, Suresh Raina, Brendon McCullum, Faf du Plessis, Dwayne Bravo, Ajinkya Rahane, Shane Watson, Stuart Binny, James Faulkner and Sanju Samson.