India’s limited-overs skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni, along with his teammates Ravindra Jadeja, Ajinkya Rahane, Suresh Raina and Ravichandran Ashwin will be up for grabs when the IPL draft for the two new IPL teams takes place on December 15.
1. Sanjeev Goenka’s New Rising won the bid for the Pune franchise while Intex won the bid for Rajkot after a reverse bidding process held in Delhi on December 8.
2. These teams will replace suspended teams Chennai Super Kings and Rajasthan Royals for the next two editions to be held in 2016 and 2017.
3. Other top international stars like New Zealander Brendon McCullum, Australia’s Shane Watson and current captain Steven Smith, West Indian all-rounder Dwayne Bravo from a total of 50 cricketers are also available for the picking.
4. These players played for suspended IPL teams CSK and RR in the last edition.
5. The two new teams will have a minimum of Rs 40 crore and a maximum of Rs 66 crore to buy players.
6. Pune will be given the choice to pick the players first because they were the lowest bidders (negative bids) to buy the new team for two years in the draft to be held at the Mumbai Cricket Association’s recreation centre at the Bandra Kurla Complex.
The bidding process for the two new franchises was necessitated by the suspension of Chennai Super Kings and Rajasthan Royals for the involvement of some of their officials and co-owners in the 2013 IPL spot-fixing scandal.
However, both the CSK and RR will be allowed back in the league after serving out their suspension.