Mahendra Singh Dhoni will play for Pune in IPL

Mahendra Singh Dhoni showed he hadn’t lost his Midas touch, emerging as top draw in the Indian Premier League draft in Mumbai Tuesday, with the new Pune franchise picking him first for Rs 12.5 crores. His former Chennai Super Kings and India teammate Suresh Raina became the first preference choice of Rajkot, the second new IPL team in place of suspended CSK and Rajasthan Royals. Raina also gets Rs 12.5 crores as the first player selected. CSK and RR players were pooled and made available to the two new franchises, initially on a draft basis.

India batsman Ajinkya Rahane was Pune’s second choice while Rajkot opted for Ravindra Jadeja. Both get Rs 9.5 crores per year. Off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin was picked by Pune as third choice for Rs 7.5 crores while New Zealand skipper Brendon McCullum was Rajkot’s choice.