Indian and New Zealand skippers Mahendra Singh Dhoni and Brendon McCullum were drafted for more than one million dollars into new cricket teams Tuesday for the Indian Premier League following a graft scandal. A new team from the western city of Pune paid 125 million rupees ($1.8 million) for limited overs captain Dhoni for the next edition of the lucrative Twenty20 tournament. Dhoni joins Australian captain Steven Smith who was sold for 55 million rupees ($820,000) and South African Twenty20 captain Faf du Plessis who went for 40 million rupees ($597,000) on the same team. The other franchise from the western city of Rajkot chose McCullum for 75 million rupees ($1.1 million), James Faulkner for 55 million rupees ($820,000) and West Indian Dwayne Bravo for 40 million rupees ($597,000). The franchises have replaced Chennai Super Kings and the Rajasthan Royals — teams banned from the glitzy tournament for two years on the recommendation of a Supreme Court-appointed panel, after a corruption scandal. They were allowed to choose five stars from each of the banned teams, while the rest were released into a pool for auction. Australia's Shane Watson and Mike Hussey, South Africa's Chris Morris and the West Indies' Dwayne Smith remain unsold and will now be auctioned in Bangalore in February. The 2013 IPL season was mired in controversy after police launched legal proceedings against several officials from the teams and three Rajasthan Royals' players for illegal betting and spot-fixing. Suresh Raina, who played for the Chennai Super Kings alongside Dhoni, fetched 125 million rupees from Rajkot which also chose all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja. "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. Indian batsman Ajinkya Rahane and spinner R Ashwin were picked by Pune for 95 million and 75 million rupees. Both Chennai and Rajasthan are expected to return to the IPL after their bans end following the 2017 edition. Australia schedules more domestic pink ball matches Flushed with the success of the inaugural day-night Test match, Cricket Australia has further embraced the innovation by scheduling another pink ball round of four-day Sheffield Shield matches for mid-February. More than 123,000 fans passed through the gates at Adelaide Oval over the three days of last month's experimental test against New Zealand, a record for a non-Ashes match. That far outstripped the paltry crowds for the Test against West Indies last week at Bellerive Oval in Hobart as well as the Brisbane and Perth matches against the Black Caps — all played in more traditional daylight hours. Round seven of the interstate Sheffield Shield championship will now take place under lights with the WACA in Perth, the Gabba in Brisbane and Adelaide all hosting day-night matches starting on Feb. 14. Australia and New Zealand players reported that there was more movement from the pink ball under lights in Adelaide, while concerns that it deteriorates more quickly than the red ball have also been expressed.
