IPL 2016: Dhoni, Ashwin to play for Pune; Raina, Jadeja for Rajkot

India’s limited-overs captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni on Tuesday emerged the top draw in the IPL draft with the Sanjeev Goenka-owned new franchise Pune opting to pick him first for the stipulated price of Rs. 12.5 crore.

Dhoni’s India teammate Suresh Raina was picked to play for the Rajkot team. “Excited to play for the beautiful vibrant city- Rajkot in @IPL. Looking forward to have new teammates and support from the people of Gujarat,” Raina tweeted after the draft.

In-form Indian 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. New Zealand captain Brendon McCullum was Rajkot’s choice.

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.

Here are Team Pune’s and Team Rajkot’s picks:

Team Pune	Team Rajkot
M.S. Dhoni (Rs. 12.5 crore)	Suresh Raina (Rs. 12.5 crore)
Ajinkya Rahane (Rs. 9.5 crore)	Ravindra Jadeja (Rs. 9.5 crore)
Ravichandran Ashwin (Rs. 7.5 crore)	Brendon McCullum (Rs. 7.5 crore)
Steven Smith (Rs. 5.5 crore)	James Faulkner (Rs. 5.5 crore)
Faf du Plessis (Rs. 4 crore)	Dwayne Bravo (Rs. 4 crore)