BHUBANESWAR: The stage is set for the Ultimate Kho Kho (UKK) season 2 player draft here on November 21.
Armed with ₹ 3.90 Crore in the purse, the six franchisees will battle it out to secure their respective lineups from the 275 players available in the pool. Maharashtra’s top stars look set to dominate the bidding with 18 players from the team that emerged triumphant in the recently concluded National Games.
Promoted by Amit Burman in partnership with the Kho Kho Federation of India, UKK remains steadfast in its mission to reimagine the growth of indigenous sport with greater dynamism and engagement.
With a minimum of 20 and a maximum of 35 players, each franchise will have 35 draft rounds to complete their team combinations for the second edition. While 18 players have been retained by the teams; the remaining players have been put under four categories, A, B, C and D. Category A players are priced at ₹ 5 lac, Category B will get ₹ 3 lac each and C and D are categorised at ₹ 1.5 lac and ₹ 1 lac respectively. Franchisees will have the option to select players based on their respective draft sequence and purse capacity.
In all, 293 players are in the pool that has been divided into three segments. The 18 players retained by the franchisees fall in the ‘Power Players’ category. Players who were part of Season 1 but have not been retained are known as ‘Pole Players’. While the new set of players recommended either by the franchisees or the Kho Kho Federation of India will be called ‘Dream Players’.
Defending champions Odisha Juggernauts have retained four players from the last season, while Chennai Quick Guns three, including Player of the Tournament Ramji Kashyap and Young Player of the Tournament Madan. Gujarat Giants showed faith in Defender of the Tournament Abhinandan Patil besides two others. Mumbai Khiladis retained two of players Gajanan Shengal and Sreejesh S from the previous season. Meanwhile, Rajasthan Warriors and Telugu Yoddhas have retained three players each.
The action from season 2 will be broadcast live on Sony Pictures Networks India (SPNI)’s sports channels as well as livestreamed on Sony LIV.
