Bangalore, 19 July 2024: Ahead of the third season of the Maharaja Trophy KSCA T20, powered by FanCode, the six franchises submitted a list of retained players, which was made public by the Karnataka State Cricket Association (KSCA). For the Maharaja Trophy KSCA T20 Season 3, Mayank Agarwal, Devdutt Padikkal, Manish Pandey, Karun Nair, Abhinav Manohar, and Vyshak Vijaykumar were among the players who were kept on.
The M. Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru will host the competition from August 15 to September 1. The defending champion Hubli Tigers, runners-up Mysore Warriors, Gulbarga Mystics, Bengaluru Blasters, Mangaluru Dragons, and Shivamogga Lions will compete for the title. Before the July 25, 2024, player auction, each team exercised its right to keep four players from their roster from the previous season.
The captain Manish Pandey, who rejoins the Hubli Tigers after a championship season with the Kolkata Knight Riders, wicketkeeper Shrijith KL, and rookie all-rounder Manvanth Kumar were also retained. Vidwath Kaverappa, the Hubli Tigers’ star medium pacer, will also be back to spearhead the bowling assault. Notably, Manvanth Kumar took the most wickets in the previous season, and Manish Pandey and Shrijith KL were two of the top five run scorers.
Mysore Warriors, the runners-up from the previous season, retained captain Karun Nair, the dynamic CA Karthik, and the legendary S.U. Karthik in order to prioritise a potent top order. Manoj Bhandage, an aggressive all-around player, will also be playing for the Mysore Warriors once more.
Due to an injury, southpaw Devdutt Paddikal had to miss the Gulbarga Mystics’ previous season. However, he is back this season to help the Mystics bat better. Along with batsmen Smaran Ravi and Aneesh KV, the speed of Vyshak Vijaykumar of Royal Challengers Bengaluru has also been maintained.
Abhinav Manohar, who cost 15 lakhs and was also the most expensive player in the previous year’s auction, was kept by the Shivamogga Lions. In addition, Shivraj and Nihal Ullal are back to provide the Lions a strong batting lineup. The Shivamogga Lions have also decided to hold onto their veteran medium pacer, Vasuki Koushik.
Top-order batsman Nikin Jose, who missed much of the previous season owing to NCA obligations, will be back for the Mangaluru Dragons. Their list of retentions was completed by Paras Gurbax Arya, Siddharth KV, and Rohan Patil.
Despite having a lacklustre season the previous year, the Bengaluru Blasters have kept Mayank Agarwal, Mohsin Khan, Suraj Ahuja, and all-rounder Shubhang Hegde.
“We are eagerly anticipating another exciting season of the Maharaja Trophy,” said Shri BK Sampath Kumar, Commissioner of the Maharaja Trophy and Honorary Vice President of the KSCA, expressing his excitement for the upcoming season. A key component of our franchise strategy, which was unveiled last year, is player retention. Each team is able to maintain some of its most important players while developing a strong culture and identity thanks to this consistency.
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