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At the Bengaluru auction on Thursday, Samit Dravid, the son of former India captain and head coach Rahul Dravid, secured his first-ever Maharaja Trophy KSCA T20 contract with the Mysuru Warriors, the runners-up from the previous season.
The purchase of Dravid, an 18-year-old all-round player, cost INR 50,000. He was a middle-order batsman and medium-pacer who played for the Karnataka Under-19 squad that won the Cooch Behar Trophy in 2023–24. He also played for the KSCA XI in a three-day match against the Lancashire team that travelled to Alur.
Karun Nair, who was kept as the squad captain, will lead Dravid at Warriors. Along with all-rounders K Gowtham (INR 7.4 lakh) and J Suchith (INR 4.8 lakh), Warriors also acquired fast bowler Prasidh Krishna (INR 1 lakh), who had just had surgery on his left proximal quadriceps tendon.
The most expensive player at the auction, LR Chethan, a wicketkeeper batter who spent last season with the Gulbarga Mystics, signed a contract worth INR 8.2 lakh to join the Bengaluru Blasters. Mayank Agarwal, who was retained together with Suraj Ahuja, Shubhang Hegde, and Mohsin Khan, will serve as the team’s leader. For INR 7.6 lakh, legspinner Shreyas was traded to the Mangaluru Dragons.
Mystics signed Luvnith Sisodia for INR 7.2 lakh and kept Devdutt Padikkal, who was sidelined by injury the previous season, along with Vijaykumar Vyshak. Legspinner KC Cariappa was acquired by the reigning champion Hubli Tigers for INR 4.2 lakh. Manish Pandey will lead them once more, while fast bowler Vidwath Kaverappa will be part of the team.
The Maharaja Trophy season of 2024 is probably scheduled to run from September 15 to October 1, with all games taking place at Chinnaswamy Stadium.