The Indian Street Premier League (ISPL) season 2 auction witnessed intense bidding as six teams used the opportunity to build strong teams for the upcoming second season of the league, scheduled to be played at the Dadoji Kondadev Stadium in Mumbai from January 26 to February 15, 2025.
The auction took place in Mumbai with 350 players, selected from 55 cities through extensive trials, going under the hammer. As the bidding gathered pace, a total of 96 players were selected by six teams. Abhishek Kumar Dalhor was the most expensive buy after Majhi Mumbai, owned by Amitabh Bachchan, successfully outbid the competition with an impressive bid of Rs 20.50 lakh, going up from the base price of Rs 3 Lakh. The 15-year-old Sharik Yasir, the youngest player in the auction, was bought for Rs 3 lakh by Akshay Kumar-owned Srinagar Ke Veer.
As the auction drew to a close, the six franchises had spent more than Rs 5.54 cr.
The pioneering tennis-ball T10 cricket tournament, which was launched earlier this year with the inaugural edition, brings the excitement of street cricket to the stadium, providing a professional platform for talented players in the country.
This year’s auction also saw the introduction of the Right-to-Match (RTM) and Icon Player rule as the teams were allowed to add one icon player into their squad and also retain two players from their last season’s squad as part of the RTM rule.
Vijay Jaysing for Rs 13.75 lakh (Majhi Mumbai, owned by Amitabh Bachchan) and Krishna Satpute for Rs 8.50 lakh (Falcon Risers Hyderabad, owned by Ram Charan), Deepak Dogra for Rs 6 lakh (Chennai Singams, owned by Suriya), Saroj Paramanik for Rs 16.25 lakh (KVN Bangalore Strikers, owned by Hrithik Roshan), Dilip Binjwa for Rs 6 lakh (Srinagar Ke Veer, owned by Akshay Kumar), Bhavesh Pawar for Rs 8.50 lakh (Tiigers of Kolkata, owned by Kareena Kapoor Khan & Saif Ali Khan) were bought as icon players by the teams to bolster their respective squads.
Sachin Tendulkar, core committee member, ISPL, said, “It is encouraging to see the growing interest in ISPL from across the country. Tennis-ball cricket is an exciting format, and ISPL has provided a competitive platform for players to showcase their skills. The inaugural season highlighted some special performances, and this year, the league has expanded to more cities to identify emerging talent. I hope these players make the most of this chance and receive the recognition they deserve.”
Ashish Shelar, core committee member, ISPL, noted, “The inaugural season was a huge success. With a perfect blend of sports and entertainment, ISPL was loved by the fans not just inside the stadium but also on TV and OTT from across the country. The players became household names as we presented tennis-ball cricket in a grand avatar. After the enormous success of Season 1, here we are with a much bigger second edition. We received more than 30 lakh registrations for this season.”
Suraj Samat, league commissioner, ISPL, opined, “With a team of experts of the game, we want to spot and nurture talents from every corner of the country. And I am happy to announce that we will be conducting trials in 101 cities in the third season of ISPL. We also introduced the RTM rule this season to allow teams to retain their key players who have a loyal fan base. And teams made full use of this rule. The team squads look strong and balanced, and we look forward to a competitive season with exciting matches for the fans.”
ISPL season 2 promises to be a grand spectacle for all fans of the game of cricket! The exciting matches will be aired on Star Sports Network and streamed on JioCinema.
