Bengaluru, July 20: The seventh edition of the Karnataka Premier League (KPL) clashes with some high profile cricketing action elsewhere - the Test series between India and England, Duleep Trophy and the two unofficial Tests between India 'A' and South Africa 'A' prominent among them. And the KPL 2018 auction on Saturday (July 21) will see the seven teams formulating their strategies accordingly.
That mindset of the franchises was reflected when some of the biggest names in contemporary Karnataka cricket like Mayank Agarwal, R Samarth, K Gowtham, Prasidh Krishna and Karun Nair were not retained by their respective teams ahead of the KPL auction. In all possibility, these players will have other commitments for the better part of the KPL 2018, beginning on August 15.
Of course, there is Robin Uthappa. The hard-hitting right-hander, an integral part of Kolkata Knight Riders in the IPL over the years, has replaced Karun in the KPL auction and could attract a bidding war from the participants.
With doubts around the availability of Pool A players like Agarwal, Shreyas Gopal and Gowtham persisting, some unheralded players, especially those wearing the all-rounder tag, could benefit in the auction.
Among the seven teams, Bellary Tuskers enter the KPL auction with the biggest purse of Rs 25 lakh after retaining veteran wicketkeeper CM Gautam and Devdutt Padikkal for Rs 5 lakh.
On the other hand, we are Hubli Tigers who kept R Vinay Kumar, Abhishek Reddy, Praveen Dubey and Abhishek Sakhuja with them and were now left with Rs 17.9 lakh to spend in the auction.
A total of 258 players have been registered for auction and among them 28 were retained - 13 from Pool A and 15 from Pool B. Now, the franchises can spend a maximum of Rs 18 lakh on Pool A players and Rs 12 lakh on those players who are in Pool B (including those retained). The minimum bids for Pool A and B players are Rs 50,000 and Rs 25,000 respectively.
Funds remaining
Bellary Tuskers: Rs 25 lakh
Belagavi Panthers: Rs 22.6 lakh,
Mysuru Warriors: Rs 21.5 lakh
Shivamogga Lions: Rs 21 lakh
Bijapur Bulls: Rs 20.8 lakh
Bengaluru Blasters: Rs 18.8 lakh
Hubli Tigers: Rs 17.9 lakh.