Delhi Daredevils' Manoj Tiwary and Royal Challengers Bangalore's Ashok Dinda under scanner for helping Team Pune pick IPL players
Moments after the IPL draft ended in Mumbai on Tuesday, Pune franchise representative Subroto Talukdar spilled the beans that it was none other than Delhi Daredevils Manoj Tiwary and Royal Challengers Bangalores Ashok Dinda who had helped the new franchise pick the likes of Mahendra Singh Dhoni, Ajinkya Rahane, R. Ashwin, Steven Smith, and Faf du Plessis.
Talukdar said that while Sourav Ganguly wasnt consulted, Tiwary and Dinda were part of the selection process.
Manoj Tiwary (left) and Ashok Dinda (right) were part of the selection process for Pune's new players
We were targeting eight players and got players of our priority. Tiwary and Dinda, who play for our company, were consulted, he said.
Considering that both Tiwary and Dinda are under contract with DD and RCB respectively, it is a clear case of conflict of interest.
And Daredevils CEO Hemant Dua said that Tiwarys role as advisor for Pune will definitely be looked at and appropriate steps taken.
Tiwary is a contracted player, but I havent seen the clip yet. Once I go through it, we will see the player regulations as per the IPL and then take the necessary step, he told Mail Today.
Another Daredevils member said that the matter will be taken up with the IPL and the Board of Control for Cricket in India as it is a clear case of violation of the players code of conduct.
We will talk to the player and take into consideration his side of the story. But this matter will surely be brought to the notice of the BCCI after which the Board can decide on the next course of action, he said. One of the players involved cited helplessness as he is an employee of CESC - also owned by Sanjeev Goenka.
What am I supposed to do if I am asked to give them suggestions? After all, I work for them and it is my duty to obey my employer. What would you do if your boss asked you to do something? Would you be able to refuse him? he enquired.
MSD and Raina separated
They forged a formidable combination in Chennai Super Kings, but now Mahendra Singh Dhoni and Suresh Raina will find themselves on opposite sides of the field.
In the Indian Premier League draft in Mumbai on Tuesday, Dhoni was picked by the Pune franchise for the stipulated price of Rs 12.5 crore, while Raina was snapped up by Rajkot in an identical Rs 12.5 crore.
Pune, owned by the New Rising consortium led by Sanjiv Goenka's RP Group, got the first opportunity to pick a player by virtue of being the lowest bidder at the auction and they grabbed the most-prized player in the draft - Indias limited overs captain Dhoni.
Suresh Raina (left) could lead Team Rajkot, while M.S. Dhoni was the first player picked by Pune during the draft on December 15
Dhoni was an automatic choice for us because we are a new franchise, we will have to build up a brand, said Subroto Talukdar, the Pune franchises representative.
The best person under the circumstances is MS Dhoni. Frankly speaking, we were targeting eight players in order of priority, and we have got players according to our plan.
The other players Pune bankrolled were Ajinkya Rahane, Ravichandran Ashwin, Steven Smith and Faf du Plessis. Rajkot was ready with a plan to build a team around Raina, who is likely to be named captain.
Obviously we had a strong assumption that Dhoni would be out, so Raina is one strong option, said Keshav Bansal, the owner of Rajkot franchise.
All these years Raina has remained under the shadows of Dhoni, but now it is time for the flamboyant batsman come into his own.
He is a fantastic batsman and he has been playing some great cricket and I have great expectations from him, said Bansal.
Players Picked Up by the 2 New Franchises
Player Franchise MS Dhoni Team Pune Suresh Raina Team Rajkot Ajinkya Rahane Team Pune Ravindra Jadeja Team Rajkot Ravichandran Ashwin Team Pune Brendon McCullum Team Rajkot Steven Smith Team Pune James Faulkner Team Rajkot Faf du Plessis Team Pune Dwayne Bravo Team Rajkot
08 December 2015
After the IPL Governing Council meeting in Delhi, the owners of the two new franchises for seasons 2016 and 2017 were introduced to the media, in a press conference addressed by BCCI President, Mr. Shashank Manohar, Hon. Secretary, Mr. Anurag Thakur and IPL Chairman, Mr. Rajeev Shukla.
New Rising promoters, the owners of the Pune-based franchises, were represented by Mr. Subhashish Mitra, Executive Director and group company secretary, New Rising. Mr. Keshav Bansal was present on behalf of Intex, the mobile manufacturing company that got the ownership rights for the Rajkot franchise.
On the occasion, Mitra said, “Our aim is to be associated with the great game of cricket in our humble capacity, and IPL has given us that opportunity.
“Pune is a great city and we have a very soft corner for it. When we were going through the list of cities available, Pune struck a chord with our mind and we are very glad that we got Pune. We are very proud to have built this association with Pune.”
Bansal said his passion for the game of cricket and the rich cricketing legacy of Gujarat spurred him and his company to get associated with the IPL.
“I am a great sports enthusiast myself and have a passion for cricket since childhood. I also feel there is a great synergy between the brand, Intex and the IPL, which is the most covered cricket tournament across the globe. So, it is a great opportunity for the brand as well me, personally, given my passion for the sport.
“Apart from the fact that my mother hails from there, Gujarat is a great cricketing state and the people there are very enthusiastic about cricket. Getting into the IPL is a great opportunity for us to promote the entire state,” he said.
The List of Players who were part of Yesterdays Draft..Except the 10 who were picked up by Pune and Rajkot the rest will go into Auction which will happen on the second week of February
First Name Surname Country 2014 IPL Matches 2015 IPL Matches Total IPL Ravichandran Ashwin India 16 14 97 Stuart Binny India 13 13 58 MS Dhoni India 16 17 129 Ravindra Jadeja India 16 17 111 Dhawal Kulkarni India 8 11 52 Abhishek Nayar India 5 0 60 Ashish Nehra India 4 16 74 Irfan Pathan India 10 0 98 Ajinkya Rahane India 13 14 81 Suresh Raina India 16 17 132 Sanju Samson India 13 14 38 Mohit Sharma India 16 16 47 Rahul Sharma India 2 0 44 Baba Aparajith India 0 0 0 Ankush Bains India 0 0 0 Rajat Bhatia India 12 2 82 Eklavya Dwivedi India 0 0 0 Deepak Hooda India 0 14 14 Vikramjeet Malik India 1 0 13 Mithun Manhas India 12 0 55 Ronit More India 0 2 2 Karun Nair India 11 14 27 Pawan Negi India 2 10 21 Ishwar Chandra Pandey India 13 10 25 Pardeep Sahu India 0 0 0 Dinesh Salunkhe India 0 0 6 Barinder Singh Saran India 0 1 1 Ankit Nagendra Sharma India 3 4 17 Pratyush Singh India 0 0 0 Pravin Tambe India 13 10 26 Rahul Tewatia India 3 1 4 Sagar Vijay Trivedi India 0 0 0 Dishant Yagnik India 1 0 25 Kyle Abbott South Africa 0 0 0 Samuel Badree West Indies 4 0 5 Dwayne Bravo West Indies 1 17 91 Ben Cutting Australia 1 0 1 Faf Du Plessis South Africa 15 17 45 James Faulkner Australia 13 13 45 Matt Henry New Zealand 0 0 0 Michael Hussey Australia 9 4 59 Brendon McCullum New Zealand 14 14 76 Christopher Morris South Africa 0 11 27 Kane Richardson Australia 7 0 10 Dwayne Smith West Indies 16 16 52 Steven Smith Australia 10 14 46 Tim Southee New Zealand 3 7 15 Juan Theron South Africa 0 1 10 Andrew Tye Australia 0 0 0 Shane Watson Australia 13 10 78
Eight years with Dhoni will help Raina set up Rajkot: Kiran More
Besides striving for re-entry into India's Test side, Suresh Raina has a new challenge on hand - to shape up the new Indian Premier League (IPL) franchise Rajkot.
On Tuesday, Raina, who until 24 hours ago belonged to the Chennai Super Kings (CSK), was picked up by the Intex-owned Rajkot team for the 2016 and 2017 IPL seasons, which will see Sanjiv Goenka-owned Pune as the other new team in the fray.
Rajkot and Pune have replaced CSK and Rajasthan Royals (RR) - the two teams that are serving a two-year suspension after their officials were found guilty of betting activities. But what the introduction of these two new entrants also did was end an eight-year partnership between Raina and MS Dhoni.
While Pune picked Dhoni as their first player of choice from the 50-men IPL Draft, Rajkot went for Raina, which meant the two CSK players will play for two different franchises for the first time in IPL's history.
At the end of the Draft, both teams had five players each and will complete the remaining squad in the February 6 auction next year, along with the other six franchises.
Raina holds a phenomenal record with CSK, having never missed even a single match for his former team since its inception in 2008. That wealth of experience plus his stint under Dhoni's captaincy should work wonders in setting up the Rajkot team.
Former Indian wicketkeeper Kiran More even believes Raina should be the one to lead the Rajkot team.
"I will prefer Suresh Raina to lead the Rajkot team. I am not saying [Ravindra] Jadeja or any other player can’t captain the side but Raina will be the best option to lead," Kiran More told CricketNext.
Apart from Raina and Jadeja, the think-tank led by Intex Director Keshav Bansal picked New Zealand skipper Brendon McCullum and allrounders James Faulkner of Australia and Dwayne Bravo of the West Indies.
More also felt that the challenge is a good opportunity for Raina to show his leadership skills.
"It’s a good challenge. Hopefully, Raina will get an opportunity to be picked as captain for Rajkot. He has spent eight years at CSK with Dhoni and must have learnt a lot of tricks of the trade from the Indian skipper. It can come handy if he is asked to lead the team," the former stumper and chief selector said.
As first picks from the Draft, both Dhoni and Raina will take home Rs. 12.5 crore.
“They [Dhoni and Raina] are professionals. It doesn’t matter for who you are playing. Just go and perform because you are a professional. They will be playing for different teams now. Pride will be there. They will try to win as many matches as possible for their owners. They are professionals and paid to play and they have to perform,” the ex-selector felt.
While Pune went for batsmen and big names, Rajkot opted for allrounders, as many as four out of the five they were allowed to pick.
"Both teams have top-class players. Pune have batsmen-dominated players while Rajkot have allrounders. Both teams are balanced but I feel the one with strong batting line-up can get the edge as T20 is more about batting," More felt.
"Yes, Pune have got a strong batting line-up. They have star players – MS [Dhoni], [Ajinkya] Rahane, Steve [Smith] and [Faf] du Plessis. [Ravichandran] Ashwin too can bat and he is in tremendous form [with the ball], but we shouldn’t undermine Rajkot. They have allrounders who can prove effective in this format. They have McCullum, who can turn the game on its head single-handedly. They have Faulkner, who is magnificent in the death overs – with bat and bowl. [Suresh] Raina is a game-changer," More said when asked to weight the two teams.
Ashwin, under the leadership of Dhoni, has done wonders for India and CSK; and with both now set to play for Pune as well, it surely gives the New Rising group's team an advantage. "Ashwin is a top-class spinner in all forms of cricket. Dhoni as a leader and Ashwin as a spinner will form the backbone of Pune,” More opined.
More said Dhoni’s knowledge of the game and domestic players will work in Pune’s favour.
"Dhoni is an experienced cricketer. He knows how to handle players and assess conditions. Hope that he continues in the same vein as he did during his CSK days," the Baroda man concluded
Reports: Dale Steyn, Yuvraj Singh
among big names set to be
released by IPL franchises
With some top performers of Chennai Super
Kings and Rajasthan Royals being available for
the player auction for the 2016 IPL, the other six
teams too are set to release some high-profile
players into the pool on whom bidding will be
done in the auction. The auction will be held in
Bangalore on 6th February.
Dale Steyn faces the axe from Sunrisers
Hyderabad. He might still be considered the best
international bowler, but in the IPL last year he
could take only three wickets in six games at an
unflattering average of 66.66 and a profligate
strike rate of 38. Trent Boult replaced Steyn as
the preferred foreign fast bowler in the later
parts of the campaign.
Also, Steyn costs the Hyderabad franchise Rs.
9.5 crores, while Trent Boult had only come for
Rs. 3.8 crores. It is quite clear that Sunrisers will
release Steyn, and get some more value into
their team with the money acquired. Steyn might
be picked up by one of the teams, but there are
some who do not stand much of a chance of
continuing their IPL career this year.
The other international player to be facing a
disgrace is Kings XI Punjab captain George
Bailey. A respected figure, the Australian had
managed only 259 from 13 games last year,
while the team’s fortunes had plummetted under
his leadership.
KXIP can recover Rs 3.25 crores by putting
Bailey into the auction, and it could be tough for
the T20 specialist to find a new franchise to go
to.
KXIP, who had finished at last spot in 2015, are
aiming to revamp their whole squad. Mumbai
Mirror sources have revealed that the Punjab
team will go on to release players like Beuran
Hendricks (bought for Rs 1.8 crore), Thishara
Perera (Rs 1.6 crores), Parvinder Awana (Rs 65
lakhs) and Shivam Sharma (Rs 10 lakh) as well.
Among the big-money India players who will be
released by their teams are Yuvraj Singh and
Dinesh Karthik. Yuvraj had been bought by Delhi
Daredevils for Rs. 16 crore, while Dinesh Karthik
had gone to Royal Challengers Bangalore for Rs.
12.5 crores.
Neither Yuvraj nor Karthik had been able to live
up to their billing, and will probably be picked up
by one of the other franchises this year at a
decreased rate.
Never argue with stupid people, they will drag you down to their level and then beat you with experience.