Karbonn KPL 2016 Player Auction Preview: KL Rahul, Stuart Binny and others go under hammer
Bengaluru, August 9, 2016: Fifteen Pool A players will go under the hammer on Wednesday afternoon when the player auction for the 5th edition of the Karbonn Karnataka Premier League powered by Cycle Pure Agarbathies is held at the Karnataka State Cricket Association.
The auction, to be conducted by well-known sports presenter Charu Sharma, will see the eight franchisees, Belagavi Panthers, Bellary Tuskers, Bijapur Bulls, Hubli Tigers, Mangalore United, Mysuru Warriors, Namma Shivamogga and Rock Stars bidding for players.
This year, the Rockstars team will participate in the player auction. In an effort to make the Rockstars team more competitive, they have been allowed to dip into Pool A for one player and Pool B for five players. Their purchasing power has been proportionately reduced.
They can splurge a maximum of Rs 2.5 lakh for the Pool A player and Rs 4 lakh for the Pool B players. Besides, they do not have the option of carrying forward any unspent money from the Pool A budget to their war chest for the Pool B purchases. If the Rockstars do not buy any Pool A player, they would still be mandated to get a minimum of five and a maximum of six Pool B players, but the purse will be limited to Rs 4 lakh.
Two Indian cricketers, KL Rahul and Stuart Binny are in the Pool A lot, along with other current state Ranji Trophy cricketers, CM Gautham, Abhishek Reddy, David Mathais, Kunal Kapoor and Shishir Bhavane.
Holders Bijapur Bulls who retained four Pool A players can buy one more from the elite pool and have a purse of Rs 1.7 lakh remaining for that. Of course they have the full purse of Rs 8 lakh for their pool B purchases.
Belagavi Panthers too retained four Pool A players but have a mere Rs 50,000, the base price, to bid for the fifth player. They have their full purse of Rs 8 lakh for the Pool B component of players.
The terms of the auction state that each team, apart from Rockstars, could have five Pool A players. The maximum number of players in a squad, including cricketers from Pool A, Pool B and catchment area, is limited to 20.
Bellary Tuskers retained just Amit Verma from Pool A and thus have an opportunity to buy four more at the auction. Mysuru Warriors and Namma Shivamogga retained three players from the elite pool and thus could buy two apiece at the auction.
Hubli Tigers spent Rs 5.95 lakh in retaining four Pool A players which included Shivl Koushik (Rs 65,000) and Mohammed Taha (Rs 50,000) and thus have a huge kitty of Rs 14,05,000 to splurge for their remaining players.
When and Where to watch
The auction starts at 2 p.m. and is covered live on television by Udaya Varthegalu and Hathway Entertainment Channel. The auction will be webcast live on www.kpl.cricket and Facebook live.
Here is where you can catch the action live:
The purses available with the franchises after their retention of players are:
Belagavi Panthers Rs 8.5 lakh (Rs 50,000 Pool A PLUS Rs 8 lakh Pool B); Bellary Tuskers Rs. 14.9 lakh (Rs. 8.2 lakh + Rs 6.7 lakh); Bijapur Bulls Rs 9.7 lakh (Rs. 1.7 lakh + Rs 8 lakh); Hubli Tigers: Rs 14.05 lakh (Rs 6.05 lakh +Rs 8 lakh); Mangalore United: Rs. 11,64, 250 (Rs 5,44,250 + Rs. 6.2 lakh); Mysuru Warriors: Rs 14.8 lakh (Rs 6.9 lakh + Rs 7.9 lakh); Namma Shivamogga: Rs 13.1 lakh (Rs 5.7 lakh + Rs. 7.4 lakh); Rockstars Rs. 6.5 lakh (Rs 2.5 lakh + Rs 4 lakh)
The following are the Pool A players who are up for sale at the auction: Abhishek Reddy, B Akhil, SL Akshay, Anirudh Joshi, Bharat Chipli, Bhavesh Gulecha, David Mathias, CM Gautham, Jonathan, Kunal Kapoor, KB Pavan, Pawan Deshpande, KL Rahul, Shishir Bhavane, Stuart Binny.