Devdutt Padikkal commands top bid at the fourth edition of Maharaja Trophy KSCA T20 auction

Bengaluru (Karnataka) [India], July 15 (ANI): The fourth edition of the Maharaja Trophy KSCA (Karnataka State Cricket Association) T20 auction saw Indian international batter Devdutt Padikkal lead the charts as the most expensive player of the day, picked up by the Hubli Tigers for Rs 13.20 lakh.
Abhinav Manohar and Manish Pandey followed closely behind, attracting bids of Rs 12.20 lakh each from the Hubli Tigers and Mysuru Warriors, respectively. Among the bowlers, Shivamogga Lions went big for pacer Vidwath Kaverappa at Rs 10.80 lakh, while Bengaluru Blasters shelled out Rs 8.30 lakh for strike bowler Vidyadhar Patil, underlining the premium on wicket-takers this season, as per a press release from KSCA.
Mysuru Warriors placed a strong emphasis on all-rounders with the addition of K Gowtham for 4.40 lakh, while Yashovardhan Parantap was roped in for 2.00 lakh. The Warriors further bolstered their bowling with the signing of last season's joint leading wicket-taker Kumar LR (1.50 lakh), left-arm spinner Shikhar Shetty for a hefty 4.70 lakh, pacer Venkatesh M (2.00 lakh), and Gowtham Mishra (2.25 lakh) as well. They further reinforced the top order with promising wicketkeeper-batter Harshil Dharmani (3.20 lakh).
Bengaluru Blasters had a slow start with no signings in Category A. Their first move came with the acquisition of Chethan LR for 5.10 lakh, a notable pick, having fetched the highest price in last season's auction. They secured strike bowler Vidyadhar Patil for 8.30 lakh. They continued to stack their batting with the fluent Rohan Patil (2.70 lakh) and spent big on spin by securing Rohan Naveen for 4.25 lakh, followed by the exciting 16-year-old Madhav Prakash Bajaj for 3.15 lakh.
Hubli Tigers, holding the biggest purse going into the day, made big moves with the signings of Padikkal and Abhinav Manohar. The experienced Mohammad Taha was brought in to strengthen the top order for 4.60 lakh, while young pacer Samarth Nagaraj joined the ranks for 3.20 lakh.
Gulbarga Mystics targeted key roles with precision. They brought in wicketkeeper-batter KV Siddharth for 6.10 lakh to shore up the middle order and added right-arm fast bowler Monish Reddy for 4.65 lakh, giving their pace unit a boost. The Mystics were the most active in the final phase of the auction, scooping up last season's top wicket-taker, Lavish Kaushal, for 7.75 lakh and Nikin Jose for 1 Lakh.
Shivamogga Lions also made a significant investment in young all-rounder Aneeshwar Gautam for 8.20 lakh. They reinforced their squad with the addition of experienced Anirudha Joshi (3.60 lakh), and leg-spinner Deepak Devadiga (1.20 lakhs).
Mangaluru Dragons were active from the outset, leading their haul with the high-profile signing of Shreyas Gopal for 8.60 lakh. They showed faith in Melu Kranthi Kumar, splashing 5.60 lakh on the all-rounder. They reinforced their bowling with seasoned pacer Ronit More (3.40 lakh) and Abhishek Prabhakar for 3.07 lakh and also added batting options in Sharath BR (2.20 lakh) and Shivraj S (6.55 lakh). They brought in wicketkeeper Adarsh Prajwal for 3.25 lakh, rounding off their haul.
Each team will make two more additions to their squads with players from their respective catchment areas. The players marked with (*) are retained players.
Mysore 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). (ANI)