Karnataka State Cricket Association launches Maharaja Trophy T20

Bengaluru (Karnataka) [India] July 16 (ANI): Karnataka State Cricket Association (KSCA) announced the launch of Maharaja Trophy KSCA T20, a marquee Twenty20 cricket tournament organised in the memory of the Srikantadatta Narasimharaja Wadiyar, the former President of KSCA and Maharaja of Mysore.
The tournament will be held from August 7 to August 26.

Unveiling the coveted trophy and the logo today in a star-studded ceremony was Roger Binny, Hon. President KSCA, Santosh Menon, Secretary and Vinay Mruthyunjaya, Treasurer of KSCA.

Reminiscent of the Bradman Cup, which became the country's first-ever Twenty20 tournament held in 2005, Roger Binny, President of KSCA said, "KSCA had set the ball rolling for an all-new format of the game, way back in 2005, giving India its first taste of a T20 game through the Bradman Cup. Subsequently, the Karnataka Premier League was launched in 2009 and we saw eight successful editions of this entertaining league which saw many young stars emerge. With an aim to continue to provide our cricketers with the right platform to perform and be ready for the next big leap in their cricketing career, we have decided to roll out the Maharaja Trophy KSCA T20."

The legendary all-rounder, who was part of India team that won ICC Men's World Cup 1983, also unveiled the logo and the Maharaja-themed trophy which is carefully crafted with an engraved metal pillar adorned by 11 solid wings that suggest the number of players in a cricket team.

The tournament will see six teams representing Bengaluru, Mysore, Hubli, Shivamoga, Raichur and Mangalore vie for top honours. "The Maharaja Trophy KSCA T20 will commence on 7th August in Mysore with the first leg of matches being held at the Srikantadatta Narasimharaja Wadiyar Ground in Mysore. A total of 18 matches will be held in Mysore followed by a total of 16 matches including the final being held in Bengaluru at the Chinnaswamy Stadium," stated Santosh Menon, Secretary of KSCA.

"All the top cricketers within the age bracket of 35 years will be eligible to take part in the tournament. The teams will be formed through a player draft, and KSCA will nominate the Captains and Vice Captains for the teams and we will assign support staff for each of the six teams," Menon added.

Karnataka's top cricketers include Devdutt Padikkal, Shreyas Gopal, K Gowtham, Manish Pandey, J Suchith, Karun Nair, Mayank Agarwal, Abhinav Manohar, KC Cariappa, Pravin Dubey and Abhimanyu Mithun are expected to feature in the Maharaja Trophy KSCA T20. (ANI)