The auction of players for Karnataka’s prestigious T20 league Maharaja Trophy KSCA 2026 has been completed. The tournament will be organized between June 20 and July 12. The biggest discussion of this auction was about the vice-captain of the Indian Test team and star wicketkeeper batsman KL Rahul, who was not bought by any team. Rahul, who performed brilliantly for Delhi Capitals in IPL 2026, scored 593 runs in 14 matches. During the same season, he also made the record of the biggest innings played by an Indian male batsman in T20 cricket. Despite this, he remained unsold in the auction.
Reason for doubt over availability
The main reason for Rahul remaining unsold is believed to be his availability. Being a regular member of the Indian team, his international schedule is quite busy. India has to play the third ODI against Afghanistan on June 20, while an ODI series against England is also scheduled on July 14.
During the auction, when questions were asked about Rahul’s availability, the auctioneer indicated that his chances of playing in the tournament were less. Due to this uncertainty, no franchise placed bets on him.
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The biggest bid on Karun Nair
Indian batsman Karun Nair got the highest price in the auction. Coastal Kings Mangaluru included him in their team for Rs 18 lakh. With this he became the most expensive player of this season. At the same time, Shivamogga Yodhas, who became a part of the league for the first time, bought young batsman Ravichandran Smaran, who played for Sunrisers Hyderabad in the IPL, for Rs 15.75. Apart from this, the teams added Abhinav Manohar for Rs 13.5 lakh, Manish Pandey for Rs 12.75 lakh and Mayank Agarwal for Rs 11.50 lakh. All these players were included in the list of most expensive players of the auction.
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Six teams will participate
This will be the fifth edition of Maharaja Trophy KSCA T20. This time six teams will participate in the tournament. These include Kalyani Bengaluru Blasters, Hubli Tigers, Mysore Warriors, Gulbarga Mystics, Coastal Kings Mangaluru and Shivamogga Yoddhas. In the tournament, once again many experienced and young players of Karnataka will get a chance to showcase their talent, while the results of the auction have created an atmosphere of discussion even before the start of the season.