MS Dhoni one of the greatest, but we haven't decided yet: Pune IPL franchise owner

New Delhi: Even after the newly selected Indian Premier League (IPL) franchise Pune have an added advantage over Rajkot to bid for the first player during the players auction, Sanjiv Goenka owner of the outfit is yet to decide who would be the cricketer.

Speculations are high that limited-overs Indian skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni, under whose captaincy Chennai Super Kings (CSK) have won two IPL titles, would be the first choice as he has been the most sought after player since the inception of the rich-cash League.

However, Goenka made it very clear that they are yet to make a call on this.

"MS Dhoni is one of the finest and greatest leaders India has seen. We have not yet decided but very soon we'll decide. We have the first option of choosing the first player in the draft," Goenka told PTI.

"We've to still decide who will run the cricket franchise, it may be the people who are involved with football franchise or it may not," Goenka added further.

Earlier in the day, Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) picked Rajkot and Pune to replace suspended IPL franchises CSK and Rajsthan Royals, for two years.

If Intex group bagged the Rajkot team, then, Kolkata-based business tycoon Sanjiv Goenka's RP-Sanjiv Goenka group won the bid for the Pune-based team.

The next process for Pune and Rajkot would be to choose five players from the pool of 50 from Chennai Super Kings and Rajasthan Royals, out of which maximum of 4 Indian capped players are allowed.