Pune or Rajkot - who is the happier franchise after the IPL Draft?

The draft for IPL 2016 took place in Mumbai on Tuesday, 15 December

Things seem to be moving quite swiftly when it comes to preparations for the ninth season of the Indian Premier League. Just last week we learnt about the two new franchises, Pune and Rajkot, who have replaced the suspended ones, Chennai and Rajasthan.

And within a mere 7 days, they already have laid the foundation for their respective teams by picking up 5 top players each from the tainted franchises at the IPL Draft specially organised for the two teams.

Events of the Draft

Each of the two new teams were required to choose 5 players from the pool consisting of Chennai Super Kings and Rajasthan Royals squad members. Pune had won the right to call first at the draft, courtesy of their lowest bid at the franchise auction, and not surprisingly they started off by picking the prize catch, Mahendra Singh Dhoni.

Rajkot provided a fitting response by opting for Dhoni’s ‘Man Friday’ Suresh Raina as both players bagged an INR 12.5 crore package. The next round saw Ajinkya Rahane grabbed by Pune whereas local lad Ravindra Jadeja fell in the kitty of the Rajkot franchise for a hefty package of INR 9.5 crore each.

Ravichandran Ashwin and Brendon McCullum were the third choices for Pune and Rajkot respectively and they had to shell out INR 7.5 crore for each of the two players. Yet another IPL team from Pune opted for Steven Smith while James Faulkner went to Rajkot and both will be paid INR 5.5 crore by their respective franchises.

The final two picks of the draft were Faf du Plessis for Pune and Dwayne Bravo for Rajkot at a price of INR 4 crore each.

Reviewing Pune’s picks

The five players picked up by Pune in the IPL Draft are MS Dhoni, Ajinkya Rahane, Ravichandran Ashwin, Steven Smith and Faf du Plessis.

MS Dhoni has been one of the most prized possessions of the IPL without a doubt and even Rajkot would have wanted him, given the choice. However, his uneven form over the past several months has been an increasing concern.

This year’s edition of the IPL too was not up to the high standards set by Dhoni in earlier seasons. The flip side of the coin, though, is the brand value of MSD which sets him apart from the rest and may have a positive impact on the image of the Pune franchise.

Grabbing both Ajinkya Rahane and Ravichandran Ashwin, the stand-out performers from the Test series against South Africa, can be considered as a double bonanza for Pune. The best part is that both players are proven performers in the IPL as well and could turn out to be aces in the pack for their new franchise.

Moving on to the foreign players, Pune have gone for two of the most talented young batsmen in world cricket today in Steven Smith and Faf du Plessis. While Smith is among the top batsmen across formats at present, du Plessis has been performing consistently for a few years now in international cricket as well as the IPL.

The noticeable feature about the Pune line-up so far is the presence of more accumulators than finishers, considering Dhoni’s decreasing prowess as a finisher. However, they boast of arguably the best spinner in the league.

Reviewing Rajkot’s picks

Rajkot’s five choices from the IPL draft are Suresh Raina, Ravindra Jadeja, Brendon McCullum, James Faulkner and Dwayne Bravo.

One of the credentials that Rajkot’s top pick from the draft, Suresh Raina, possesses is that the fact that he is the highest run-scorer in the history of the IPL. To add to it, he is an impact player capable of changing the course of the match in a matter of balls, let alone overs.

The downside, however, is that he has been struggling for form in the recent past and needs to find his mojo back. But one thing that you know with Raina is that good form is just an innings away.

The Rajkot franchise also managed to bring on board the local boy and the man who can do nothing wrong at the moment, Ravindra Jadeja. The all-rounder was in perilous form with the ball against South Africa in Tests and is also doing well in the Vijay Hazare Trophy presently with both bat and ball.

The foreign players include two genuine all-rounders in Faulkner and Bravo and hard-hitting batsman Brendon McCullum, all three being superlative performers in the IPL.

The line-up for Rajkot displays more emphasis on picking up all-rounders rather than specialists and with the limited budget they have left for the main auction, it may be difficult to find quality batsmen and bowlers.

Verdict

In terms of being the happier team post the IPL Draft, Pune may have slightly edged out Rajkot thanks to their combination thus far. The key reason for this is the strong Indian core of Dhoni, Rahane, and Ashwin, the latter two being in the prime of their careers at the moment.

Even the two foreign players are trustworthy performers who have thrived across conditions, keeping aside the few odd slip-ups. Rajkot are not badly placed either with three fine all-rounders in Bravo, Faulkner, and Jadeja forming their core alongside two of the most aggressive batsmen in IPL history, Raina and McCullum.

However, it is only after the main auction on 6 February 2016 that one will be able to figure out how well both the new franchises are placed in terms of their team combination.