Bengaluru, July 29: The 5th edition of Karnataka Premier League (KPL) Twenty20 tournament will be played from September 16 to October 1.
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Karnataka State Cricket Association (KSCA), the organisers of KPL, today (July 29), announced that the annual T20 league will be played in Mysuru and Hubballi with the final slated for October 1. (Uthappa takes Bulls to final)
Hubballi's KSCA Stadium will host the semi-finals and final. The tournament will get under way in Mysuru and the first leg will be played at SDNR Wadiyar cricket ground till September 22. From September 24 to October 1, Hubballi will be the venue for the matches.
As in the previous years, 8 teams will vie for the trophy. The Players Auction will take place in Bengaluru on August 10. Each side can retain upto 4 players. The maximum strenght of the squad is 18.
KSCA secretary Brijesh Patel, speaking the launch press conference, said KPL had helped many youngsters to make it to the big league. He cited the examples of KL Rahul, Karun Nair, Manish Pandey, Mayank Agarwal, Shreyas Gopal, Shivil Kaushik and others, who featured in KPL.
"The best aspect of KPL is the increasing number of cricketers it has helped unearth and develop. This, in turn, has impacted positively on the fortunes of players and the state," Patel said.
"Many of the emerging young talents, from the likes of KL Rahul, Mayank Agarwal, Manish Pandey, Karun Nair, Shreyas Gopal, Shivil Kaushik, KC Cariappa, J Suchith, Praveen Dubey, Kishore Kamath, Prasidh Krishna to David Mathias were discovered while standing up to the pressures at KPL," he added.
This year, the tournament will be telecast in South Africa (SuperSport TV) and in the USA (Willow TV), Patel said.
Karbonn Smart has continued as the title sponsor of KPL.
Teams: Bijapur Bulls, Belagavi Panthers, Bellary Tuskers, Hubli Tigers, Mangalore United, Mysuru Warriors, Namma Shivamogga, Rockstars.
Previous champions
2009 - Provident Bangalore Rural
2010 - Mangalore United
2014 - Mysuru Warriors
2015 - Bijapur Bulls
Note: Tournament was not played from 2011 to 2013.
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