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The player draft for the second edition of the Ultimate Kho Kho (UKK) league is all set to take place in Bhubaneshwar on Tuesday, November 21. With a fabulous end to the inaugural season of what is India’s third-largest non-cricketing league in audience outreach, fans are excited to see what the second edition will hold.
The six franchises from the first edition, i.e., Mumbai Khiladis, Odisha Juggernauts, Chennai Quick Guns, Rajasthan Warriors, Gujarat Giants, and Telugu Yoddhas, will be seen in action once again. They will spend ₹3.9 crore to buy players for their team from a pool of 275 athletes.
Kho Kho players from all over the country will be part of the draft, but Maharashtra will dominate the list with its 18 players who recently triumphed at the National Games in Goa.
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How the draft works?
In all, there are 293 players in the pool. They have been divided into three segments. The 18 players retained by the franchisees are part of the ‘Power Players’ category, while those players that were part of Season 1 but have not been retained are known as ‘Pole Players’.
The remaining set of upcoming players, recommended either by the Kho Kho Federation of India or the franchisees themselves will be called ‘Dream Players’.
A 35-round draft will allow franchisees to complete their team combinations. Each team will have a minimum of 20 and a maximum of 35 players.
While the teams have retained 18 players, the remaining 275 players have been divided into four categories: A, B, C, and D. Category A players are priced at ₹5 lakhs, while the price of Category B players is set at ₹3 lakhs each. Category C and D players will get ₹1.5 lakh and ₹1 lakh, respectively. The franchisees will have the option to select players based on their respective draft sequence and purse capacity.
The champions from the first edition, the Odisha Juggernauts, have retained four players from the last season. Meanwhile, the Chennai Quick Guns have retained three, including the Player of the Tournament and the Young Player of the Tournament, Ramji Kashyap and Madan, respectively.
Gujarat Giants have shown faith in the Defender of the Tournament, Abhinandan Patil, among two others. Mumbai Khiladis, on the other hand, have retained only two players, Gajanan Shengal and Sreejesh S, from the previous season. Meanwhile, the Rajasthan Warriors and Telugu Yoddhas, like the Chennai Quick Guns and Gujarat Giants, have retained three players each.
Where to watch and live streaming details
Season 2 of the tournament will be broadcast live on Sony Pictures Networks India's (SPNI) sports channels. The live stream of the event will be available on Sony LIV.
