Maharaja Trophy T20: Chethan LR emerge as most expensive player in auction, joins Bengaluru Blasters

Chetan LR. (Photo Source: X(Twitter)

Bengaluru 25 July 2024: The Maharaja Trophy KSCA T20 auction, held at the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium, saw Chethan LR emerge as the most expensive player, joining the Bengaluru Blasters with the highest bid at 8.2 Lakhs. From a pool of 240 players, other significant acquisitions included Shreyas Gopal, Krishnappa Gowtham, and J Suchith. Among the standout young talents, the Mysore Warriors secured the promising 18-year-old Samit Dravid for 0.5 Lakhs. Additionally, Luvnith Sisodia, Mohd. Taha and Lavish Kaushal also commanded impressive bids as each of them were sold far above their base prices.

In Category A, which includes Indian and IPL players, the auction saw some exciting bids. The seasoned Shreyas Gopal’s versatile skills were highly valued by the Mangaluru Dragons, fetching 7.6 lakhs and making him the most expensive purchase within the category. The Mysore Warriors made notable acquisitions with the experienced all-rounder Krishnappa Gowtham for 7.4 lakhs, the southpaw all-rounder J Suchith for 4.8 lakhs, and pacer Prasidh Krishna, who is not at full fitness, for 1 lakh.

The crafty leg-spinner KC Cariappa was secured by the Hubli Tigers for 4.2 lakhs, and Praveen Dubey went to the Gulbarga Mystics for 6.8 lakhs. Wicketkeeper-batsman Sharath BR, who is still recovering, was also snapped up by the Gulbarga Mystics for 1 lakh.

Among the big purchases in Category B, which includes senior state players, Chethan LR emerged as the most expensive player of the auction, commanding a price of 8.2 lakhs from the Bengaluru Blasters. Luvnith Sisodia, one of last season’s top scorers, was acquired by the Gulbarga Mystics for 7.2 lakhs to bolster a formidable batting lineup that already features Devdutt Padikkal. The explosive Mohd Taha returned to the Hubli Tigers with a price tag of 6.6 lakhs, while the 23-year-old speedster Vidyadhar Patil was in high demand and eventually secured by the Mysore Warriors for 6.4 lakhs.

In Category C Goutham Mishra joined the Mysore Warriors for 2 lakhs, Meanwhile, the prolific Smaran R returned to the Gulbarga Mystics for 3.15 lakhs. Bowling all-rounder Avinash D was a significant acquisition for the Shivamogga Lions at 5.4 lakhs, along with Rajvir Wadhwa for 2.2 lakhs. The Gulbarga Mystics also added pacer Monish Reddy and all-rounder Yashovardhan Parantap, each for 1.8 lakhs. Additionally, the Hubli Tigers bought Thippa Reddy for 3.4 lakhs and Karthikeya KP for 1.2 lakhs.

Left-arm pacer Lavish Kaushal was the most notable acquisition in Category D, joining the Bengaluru Blasters for 6.2 lakhs. The Shivamogga Lions were aggressive in this category, securing several players including Aditya Mani for 1 lakh, and Bharath Dhuri, Aadithya Vishwa Karma, and Rohan Naveen, each for 0.25 lakhs. The Hubli Tigers acquired Shreesha S Acahar for 2.3 lakhs. The Gulbarga Mystics’ largest buy in Category D was Nathan Dmello Joachim at 0.6 lakhs, while Deepak Devadiga was picked up by the Mysore Warriors for 0.65 lakhs.

Speaking on the purchase of Chethan LR, Bengaluru Blasters’ Captain, Mayank Agarwal said, “We are very happy to have Chethan LR with as a part of our squad. He was a treasured find for the Bengaluru Blasters during the first season of the Maharaja Trophy and I am looking forward to having him on the team  this season.”

The third edition of the Shriram Capital Maharaja Trophy KSCA T20 is scheduled to begin on August 15th. The tournament will be broadcast on Star Sports 2, StarSports Kannada, and streamed on FanCode.

Team Lists:

Hubli Tigers: Manish Pandey, Shrijith KL, Vidhwath Kaverappa, Manvanth Kumar L, Cariappa KC, Mohammed Taha, Thippa Reddy, Karthikeya KP, Kumar LR, Aadarsh Prajwal, Kruthik Krishna, Aneeshwar Gautam, Madhav Prakash Bajaj, Shreesha S Acahar, Daman Deep Singh, Mitrakant Yadav, Nishchith Pai, Rishi Bopanna

Mysore Warriors: Karun Nair, Karthik CA, Manoj Bhandage, Karthik S U, Suchith J, Gowtham K, Vidyadhar Patil, Venkatesh M, Harshil Dharmani, Goutham Mishra, Dhanush Gowda, Samit Dravid, Deepak Devadiga, Sumit Kumar, Smayan Srivastava, Jasper EJ, Prasidh Krishna, Mohammed Sarfaraz Ashraf

Shivamogga Lions: Abhinav Manohar, Nihal Ullal, Koushik V, Shivaraj S, Pradeep T, Hardik Raj, Dhruv Prabhakar, Anand Doddamani, Rajvir Wadhwa, Avinash D, Dheeraj Mohan, Bharath Dhuri, Aadithya Vishwa Karma, Aditya Mani, Rohit K, Rohan Naveen, Sharath HS, Mohith BA

Gulbarga Mystics: Devdutt Padikkal, Vyshak Vijaykumar, Smaran R, Aneesh KV, Pravin Dubey, Luvnith Sisodia, Sharath BR, Aaditya Nair, Monish Reddy, Sharan Goud, Yashovardhan Parantap, Nathan Dmello Joachim, Faizan Riaz, Ritesh Bhatkal, Wahid Faizan Khan, Abhishek Prabhakar, Prithvi Shekhawat, Shimon Luiz

Bengaluru Blasters: Shubhang Hegde, Mayank Agarwal, Mohsin Khan, Suraj Ahuja, Anirudha Joshi, Naveen MG, Prateek Jain, Chethan LR, Melu Kranthi Kumar, Santokh Singh, Aditya Goyal, Rakshith S, Varun Rao TN, Niranjan Naik, Lavish Kaushal, Varun Kumar HC, Shikhar Shetty, Bheem Rao Navale

Mangaluru Dragons: Rohan Patil, Paras Gurbax Arya, Siddharth KV, Nikin Jose, Shreyas Gopal, Dheeraj J Gowda, Darshan MB, Macneil Hadley Noronha, Tushar Singh, Lankesh KS, Samarth Nagaraj, Sankalp SS, Abhilash Shetty, Nischith Rao, Lochan S Gowda, Pranav Bhatia, Sanjay Ashwin, Sagar Solanki