Some of the top state cricketers, such as Mayank Agarwal, Devdutt Padikkal, and Vyshak Vijaykumar, have been retained by the teams ahead of the Maharaja Trophy KSCA T20 auction later this month. The third edition of the tournament will be held from August 15 to September 1 at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium. Defending champions Hubli Tigers, runners-up Mysore Warriors, Gulbarga Mystics, Bengaluru Blasters, Mangaluru Dragons, and Shivamogga Lions retained four players each from their previous season’s squad.
The Hubli outfit retained the services of skipper Manish Pandey, wicketkeeper Shrijith KL, young all-rounder Manvanth Kumar, and medium pacer Vidwath Kaverappa. Mysore Warriors, the last year’s runners-up, chose to stay with captain Karun Nair, CA Karthik, SU Karthik, and hard-hitting all-rounder Manoj Bhandage. The Mystics have retained Devdutt Padikkal, even though he missed the previous season’s campaign due to an injury.
Vyshak Vijaykumar has also been retained by the Gulbarga side along with Smaran Ravi and Aneesh KV. The Shivamogga Lions retained Abhinav Manohar, the most expensive player in last year’s auction with a price tag of Rs 15 lakh. Nihal Ullal, Shivraj, and pacer Vasuki Koushik have also been retained by the Lions. The Mangaluru Dragons handed retention to Nikin Jose, Rohan Patil, Siddharth KV, and Paras Gurbax Arya. The Bengaluru Blasters’ retentions include Agarwal, Suraj Ahuja, Shubhang Hegde, and Mohsin Khan.