A source from the BCCI revealed that the players draft for two news IPL teams Rajkot and Pune will be held on Tuesday, December 15th.
The auction which allows the teams to pick 5 players each from the draft, will take place in the MCA’s club house ‘Bandra-Kurla Complex’.
“The auction is set to begin in the Bandra-Kurla Complex at 12.15 pm on December 15th. All the players of the suspended teams Chennai Super Kings and Rajasthan Royals will be available for the auction”, a top source from the BCCI said.
The venture ‘New Rising’ and the electronics firm ‘Intex mobiles’ have won the two new IPL franchises Pune and Rajkot respectively through reverse bidding process. The two teams will take the place of the suspended Chennai Super Kings and Rajasthan Royals for two seasons, till the ban of 24 months on CSK and RR is served.
Earlier, a committee headed by Justice R M Lodha, investigating into the IPL betting scandal held the officials and co-owners of both the IPL franchises CSK and RR as guilty of indulging in betting and recommended the Supreme Court to impose a ban of two years for not following the spirit of the game.
As a result the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has roped in two new teams into the IPL.
When the draft-auction on December 15th begins, all eyes would be on the Indian limited-overs captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni and fortunately for Pune, it will have the option to pick the first player. Apart from Dhoni, other star players Suresh Raina, Ravichandran Ashwin, Dwayne Bravo, Brendon McCullum, Ajinkya Rahane, Steve Smith and Shane Watson will also be available for the auction.
As per the tender, the first capped player would be paid 12.5 crore, while the remaining four capped players are to get Rs 9.5 crore, Rs 7.5 crore, Rs 5.5 crore, and Rs 4 crore respectively. Uncapped players can be picked for a stipulated fee of Rs 4 crore.
