Bangalore, 24 July 2024: The much anticipated player auction for the Maharaja Trophy KSCA T20 third season is scheduled for July 25, 2024, at Bengaluru’s legendary M. Chinnaswamy Stadium. Anticipation is building to a fever pitch since there are 240 participants in the pool, including elite players in Category A like Prasidh Krishna, Shreyas Gopal, K Gowtham, and Sharath BR.
Based on the teams’ initial interest, the final auction pool for the Maharaja Trophy KSCA T20 has been reduced from 1,400 players to 240 players.
The six franchises are the Hubli Tigers, runners-up Mysore Warriors, Gulbarga Mystics, Shivamogga Lions, Mangaluru Dragons, and Bengaluru Blasters. The recent announcement of player retentions for each of these teams indicates that teams will have an opportunity to strategically improve their squads and add new players through the auction.
Indian pacer Prasidh Krishna and seasoned all-rounders Shreyas Gopal and Krishnappa Gowtham, who captained the Shivamogga Lions and Mangaluru Dragons last season, are leading the race in Category A, which includes players from India and the Indian Premier League. Notable players Ronit More, KC Cariappa, J Suchith, and Pravin Dubey are among the notable talents in Category A, which also includes wicketkeeper-batsman Sharath BR, who recently joined the Gujarat Titans.
Some of the top performances from the previous edition are anticipated to get a lot of attention in Category B, which includes senior state players from BCCI competitions including the Vijay Hazare Trophy, Ranji Trophy, and Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy. Among the highest scorers from the previous season were the hard-hitting Mohd Taha, the dynamic wicketkeeper-batsman Luvnith Sisodia, and Chethan LR.
Notable names in Category C, which will include players from all other BCCI events, are Samit Dravid, who played for Karnataka U19 in the Cooch Behar Trophy, and Abhilash Shetty, one of the top wicket-takers from the previous season. All other KSCA players who have registered will be allowed to use Category D in the meantime. Each team must have a minimum of 16 players and a maximum of 20 players for the auction, with at least two players from each team’s catchment areas.
After their retentions, the remaining purses for each team are as follows: the Mysore Warriors have Rs. 29,50,000, the Bengaluru Blasters have Rs. 30,95,000, the Hubli Tigers have Rs. 30,00,000, the Shivamogga Lions have Rs. 25,90,000, the Gulbarga Mystics have Rs. 23,95,000, and the Mangaluru Dragons have Rs. 34,40,000.
Prior to the auction, the Maharaja Trophy Commissioner and Hon. Vice President of the Kerala State Cricket Association, Shri BK Sampath Kumar, stated, “We are all set for another auction, which has become an integral part of the competition.” We have had the most registrations this year, which is a sign of the Maharaja Trophy’s expansion. Teams can plan out their approach for the forthcoming season while maintaining some degree of continuity within their club by combining the choice to retain players with the auction.
August 15th is the anticipated start date of the Maharaja Trophy KSCA T20 third edition.
List of Retained Players
Hubli Tigers: Manish Pandey, Shrijith KL, Manvanth Kumar, Vidwath Kaverappa
Mysore Warriors: Karun Nair, CA Karthik, S.U. Karthik, Manoj Bhandage
Gulbarga Mystics: Devdutt Padikkal, Vyshak Vijaykumar, Smaran Ravi, Aneesh KV
Shivamogga Lions: Abhinav Manohar, Nihal Ullal, Shivraj S, Vasuki Koushik
Mangaluru Dragons: Nikin Jose, Rohan Patil, Siddharth KV, Paras Gurbax Arya
Bengaluru Blasters: Mayank Agarwal, Suraj Ahuja, Shubhang Hegde, Mohsin Khan