Star-studded auction pool awaits as Maharaja Trophy KSCA T20 returns

BENGALURU: Manish Pandey, Devdutt Padikkal, Abhinav Manohar, and Chethan LR will be in the spotlight as the Player Auction for the fourth season of the Shriram Capital Maharaja Trophy KSCA T20 takes place on Tuesday in Bengaluru.

Last season’s runners-up, Hubli Tigers, head into the auction with the highest remaining purse of Rs 41.50 lakh, while Gulbarga Mystics have the lowest at Rs 24.05 lakh. Franchises will be weighing their strategies carefully as they look to complete their squads ahead of the new season, according to a press release by KSCA.

Category A includes India and IPL cricketers and will feature some of the most in-demand names in the auction pool. Abhinav Manohar was the second-highest run-scorer last season, lighting up the Chinnaswamy Stadium with 502 runs at an average of 84.50. Manish Pandey, who led the Hubli Tigers to the title in Season 2 and to a play-off finish last year, returns to the pool.

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Devdutt Padikkal, who turned out for the Gulbarga Mystics last year and played a key role in their play-off run, will also be one to watch. Also in Category A are Shreyas Gopal and K Gowtham, who were integral to the Mysore Warriors’ title run last year.

Category B will house Chethan L R, who was the most expensive pick in last year’s auction at Rs 8.60 lakh, and is expected to draw attention once again. The flamboyant opener was among the top scorers last season, tallying 429 runs in 11 innings for the Bengaluru Blasters. Also in this category is Vidyadhar Patil, who finished as the second-highest wicket-taker last year with 16 wickets for the Mysore Warriors.

K V Siddharth and Nikin Jose, both of whom were among the top batters for the Mangaluru Dragons, return to the pool as proven performers. Other exciting prospects in Category B include top-order batters Rohan Patil, Aneesh KV and Mohd. Taha, as well as pacer Darshan MB

Category C, designated for junior state players, will see the return of Kumar L R, who topped the wicket charts last season with 17 wickets. Joining him in this category are India U19 fast bowler Samarth Nagaraj, Samit Dravid, wicketkeeper-batter Harshil Dharmani, and Melu Kranthi Kumar, who scalped 14 wickets for the Bengaluru Blasters last season while maintaining an impressive economy rate of 7.40.

Meanwhile, Category D will be reserved for all other registered players of the KSCA. This group includes Lavish Kaushal, who impressed last year by finishing as the second highest wicket-taker with 16 wickets for the Bengaluru Blasters, playing a key role in their run to the final.

Each team is permitted a purse of Rs 50 lakh for the auction. After exercising their right to retain four players each, the Hubli Tigers enter the auction with the largest purse of Rs 41.50 lakh, the Mangaluru Dragons follow them with Rs 37.70 lakh, Mysore Warriors with Rs 36.50 lakh, Shivamogga Lions with Rs 30.80 lakh, Bengaluru Blasters with Rs 28.40 lakh, and Gulbarga Mystics with Rs 24.05 lakh, the release said.

Retained Players:

Mysuru Warriors: Karun Nair (Rs 6.8L), Prasidh Krishna (Rs 2L), Karthik S U (Rs 0.5L), Karthik CA (Rs 4.2L)
Bengaluru Blasters: Mayank Agarawal (Rs 14L), Shubhang Hegde (Rs 4.3L), Suraj Ahuja (Rs 1L), Naveen MG (Rs 2.3L)
Hubli Tigers: Manvanth Kumar L (Rs 1L), Shrijith KL (Rs 2.1L), Cariappa KC (Rs 4.2L), Karthikeya KP (Rs 1.2L)
Gulbarga Mystics: Luvnith Sisodia (Rs 7.2L), Pravin Dubey (Rs 6.8L), Vyshak V (Rs 8.8L), Smaran R (Rs 3.15L)
Shivamogga Lions: Koushik V (Rs 5.9L), Nihal Ullal (Rs 2.1L), Hardik Raj (Rs 5.8L), Avinash D (Rs 5.4L)
Mangaluru Dragons: Abhilash Shetty (Rs 6.3L), Macneil Hadley Noronha (Rs 5L), Paras Gurbax Arya (Rs 0.5L), Lochan S Gowda (Rs 0.5L). (ANI)