Devdutt Padikkal Tops Maharaja Trophy T20 Auction with Record Bid

Maharaja Trophy KSCA T20 Auction Highlights

The Maharaja Trophy KSCA T20 auction, held on July 15 in Bengaluru, witnessed Indian cricketer Devdutt Padikkal emerge as the highest-priced player, acquired by the Hubli Tigers for an impressive Rs 13.20 lakh.

Following closely were Abhinav Manohar and Manish Pandey, who were both secured for Rs 12.20 lakh by the Hubli Tigers and Mysuru Warriors, respectively. In the bowling department, the Shivamogga Lions made a significant investment in pacer Vidwath Kaverappa, who was signed for Rs 10.80 lakh, while the Bengaluru Blasters paid Rs 8.30 lakh for strike bowler Vidyadhar Patil, highlighting the demand for effective wicket-takers this season, according to a statement from the KSCA.

The Mysuru Warriors focused on strengthening their all-rounder lineup, bringing in K Gowtham for Rs 4.40 lakh and Yashovardhan Parantap for Rs 2.00 lakh. They also enhanced their bowling attack by signing last season's joint leading wicket-taker Kumar LR for Rs 1.50 lakh, along with left-arm spinner Shikhar Shetty for Rs 4.70 lakh, pacer Venkatesh M for Rs 2.00 lakh, and Gowtham Mishra for Rs 2.25 lakh. Additionally, they added promising wicketkeeper-batter Harshil Dharmani for Rs 3.20 lakh.

The Bengaluru Blasters had a slow start, initially making no signings in Category A. Their first significant move was acquiring Chethan LR for Rs 5.10 lakh, a notable player who had previously fetched the highest price in last season's auction. They also secured bowler Vidyadhar Patil for Rs 8.30 lakh and continued to enhance their batting lineup with Rohan Patil for Rs 2.70 lakh and spinner Rohan Naveen for Rs 4.25 lakh, along with the exciting young talent Madhav Prakash Bajaj for Rs 3.15 lakh.

With the largest budget at the auction, the Hubli Tigers made strategic signings, including Padikkal and Manohar. They also added experienced batsman Mohammad Taha for Rs 4.60 lakh and young pacer Samarth Nagaraj for Rs 3.20 lakh.

The Gulbarga Mystics made precise moves to fill key roles, acquiring wicketkeeper-batter KV Siddharth for Rs 6.10 lakh and right-arm fast bowler Monish Reddy for Rs 4.65 lakh, enhancing their pace attack. They were particularly active in the auction's final phase, securing last season's top wicket-taker Lavish Kaushal for Rs 7.75 lakh and Nikin Jose for Rs 1 lakh.

Shivamogga Lions also made a notable investment in young all-rounder Aneeshwar Gautam for Rs 8.20 lakh, while adding experienced players like Anirudha Joshi for Rs 3.60 lakh and leg-spinner Deepak Devadiga for Rs 1.20 lakh.

The Mangaluru Dragons were proactive from the beginning, leading their acquisitions with the high-profile signing of Shreyas Gopal for Rs 8.60 lakh. They also invested in all-rounder Melu Kranthi Kumar for Rs 5.60 lakh, bolstered their bowling with seasoned pacer Ronit More for Rs 3.40 lakh, and added batting depth with Sharath BR for Rs 2.20 lakh and Shivraj S for Rs 6.55 lakh. They rounded off their haul by bringing in wicketkeeper Adarsh Prajwal for Rs 3.25 lakh.

Each team will have the opportunity to make two additional signings from their respective catchment areas. Players marked with (*) are retained players.

Mysuru Warriors Squad: Karthik S U* (0.50 lakh), Karthik CA* (4.20 lakh), Prasidh Krishna* (2.00 lakh), Karun Nair* (6.80 lakh), Manish Pandey (12.20 lakh), Gowtham K (4.40 lakh), Yashovardhan Parantap (2.00 lakh), Venkatesh M (2.00 lakh), Harshil Dharmani (3.20 lakh), Lankesh KS (0.50 lakh), Kumar LR (1.50 lakh), Goutham Mishra (2.25 lakh), Shikhar Shetty (4.70 lakh), Sumit Kumar (1.00 lakh), Dhanush Gowda (0.50 lakh), Kushaal M Wadhwani (0.50 lakh), Sharath Srinivas (1.00 lakh), Shamanth SM (0.50 lakh)

Bengaluru Blasters Squad: Mayank Agarawal* (14.00 lakh), Shubhang Hegde* (4.30 lakh), Suraj Ahuja* (1.00 lakh), Naveen MG* (2.30 lakh), A Rohan Patil (2.70 lakh), Chetan L R (5.10 lakh), Mohsin Khan (1.00 lakh), Vidyadhar Patil (8.30 lakh), Siddharth Akhil (0.50 lakh), Madhav Prakash Bajaj (3.15 lakh), Rohan Naveen (4.25 lakh), Kruthik Krishna (0.50 lakh), Advith M Shetty (0.25 lakh), Bhuvan Mohan Raju (0.25 lakh), Rohan M Raju (0.25 lakh), Niranjan Naik (0.25 lakh), Prateek Jain (1.00 lakh), Ishaan S (0.50 lakh)

Gulbarga Mystics: Luvnith Sisodia* (7.20 lakh), Pravin Dubey* (6.80 lakh), Vyshak V* (8.80 lakh), Smaran R* (3.15 lakh), Siddharth KV (6.10 lakh), Monish Reddy (4.65 lakh), Lavish Kaushal (7.75 lakh), Prithviraj (0.69 lakh), Harsha Wardhan Khuba (0.25 lakh), Sheetal Kumar (0.25 lakh), Jasper EJ (0.50 lakh), Mohith BA (0.50 lakh), Faizan Raiz (0.25 lakh), Sourab M Muttur (0.25 lakh), SJ Nikin Jose (1.00 lakh), Prajwal Pavan (0.50 lakh), Younus Ali Baig (0.25 lakh), Likhit M Bannur (0.80 lakh)

Hubli Tigers Squad: Manvanth Kumar L* (1.00 lakh), Shrijith KL* (2.10 lakh), KC Cariappa * (4.20 lakh), Karthikeya KP* (1.20 lakh), Abhinav Manohar (12.20 lakh), Devdutt Padikkal (13.20 lakh), Mohammed Taha (4.60 lakh), Vijayaraj B (0.50 lakh), Prakhar Chaturvedi (0.50 lakh), Sankalp SS (0.50 lakh), Samarth Nagaraj (3.20 lakh), Rakshith S (0.50 lakh), Nithin Shanthaveri Nagaraja (0.25 lakh), Yash Raj Punja (0.25 lakh), Ritesh L Bhatkal (1.00 lakh), Shreesha S Achar (1.05 lakh), Nathan Joachim Francis Dmello (0.25 lakh), Nischith Pai (0.50 lakh)

Shivamogga Lions Squad: Vasuki Koushik * (5.90 lakh), Nihal Ullal* (2.10 lakh), Hardik Raj* (5.80 lakh), Avinash D* (5.40 lakh), Vidwath Kaverappa (10.80 lakh), Anirudha Joshi (3.60 lakh), Aneeshwar Gautam (8.20 lakh), Dhruv Prabhakar (0.50 lakh), Sanjay Ashwin C (0.50 lakh), Anand Doddamani (0.50 lakh), Sahil Sharma (0.25 lakh), Deepak Devadiga (1.20 lakh), Bharath Dhuri (0.25 lakh), Rohit Kumar K (0.25 lakh), Tushar Singh (1.05 lakh), Darshan MB (1.10 lakh), Maribasava Chandrashekhar Gowda (0.25 lakh), Sireesh Balgaar (0.25 lakh)

Mangaluru Dragons Squad: Paras Gurbax Arya* (0.50 lakh), Macneil Hadley Noronha* (5.00 lakh), Lochan S Gowda* (0.55 lakh), Abhilash Shetty* (6.30 lakh), Sharath BR (2.20 lakh), Ronit More (3.40 lakh), Shreyas Gopal (8.60 lakh), Melu Kranthi Kumar (5.60 lakh), Sachin Shinde (1.00 lakh), Aneesh KV (1.00 lakh), Thippa Reddy (0.80 lakh), Aaditya Nair (1.10 lakh), Aadarsh Prajwal (3.25 lakh), Abhishek Prabhakar (3.07 lakh), Shivaraj S (6.55 lakh), Pallav Kumar Das (1.00 lakh).