We're set for a new dawn in the world of kho kho, with the Ultimate Kho Kho (UKK) league set to start on Sunday, August 14, at the Shree Shiv Chatrapati Sports Complex in Pune.
Six teams will battle it out in the competition — Chennai Quick Guns, Gujarat Giants, Mumbai Khiladis, Odisha Juggernauts, Rajasthan Warriors, and the Telugu Yoddhas.
The tournament will run until September 4, with 30 group stage matches and four playoff games scheduled. The Mumbai Khiladis and Gujarat Giants will face off in the opener.
The teams have announced their captains, who'll play a major role in guiding their respective teams through this high-intensity competition. On that note, let's take a look at the captains and the full squads of all six UKK teams:
Read: Scoring, fouls & more - All the rules of Kho Kho you need to know before Ultimate Kho Kho 2022
Ultimate Kho Kho 2022 Captains
Chennai Quick Guns
Amit Vasant Patil (C), Mahesh Madhukar Shinde (VC)
All-rounder Amit Patil will lead the Chennai Quick Guns this season. Drafted in Category C, he will be a key leader for the Quick Guns. Category A marquee pick Mahesh Shinde will be the side's vice-captain.
Gujarat Giants
Ranjan Sridhar Shetty (C), Pothi Reddy Siva Reddy (VC)
Category A draft picks Ranjan Shetty and Siva Reddy will lead the Gujarat Giants on the mat. Attacker Ranjan will be the side's captain while star all-rounder Siva Reddy will be his deputy.
Mumbai Khiladis
Vijay Gajanan Hajare (C)
Category B draft pick Vijay Hajare will be the Mumbai Khiladis' skipper for this season.
Odisha Juggernauts
Dipesh Vijay More and Milind Dilip Chavarekar (Co-captains)
The Odisha Juggernauts will operate with a captaincy duo for this season. Category C and D draft picks, respectively, Dipesh Vijay More and Milind Dilip Chavarekar will be the co-captains for the Odisha-based side.
Rajasthan Warriors
Akshay Prashant Ganpule and Majahar Kalandar Jamadar (Co-captains)
Like the Odisha Juggernauts, the Warriors will also play with two captains this season. Defender Akshay Ganpule and attacker Majahar Jamadar will lead the Warriors in UKK 2022.
Telugu Yoddhas
Prajwal KH (C) and Pratik Kiran Waikar (VC)
Attacker Prajwal KH will captain the Telugu Yoddhas. Star all-rounder Pratik Waikar will be the side's vice-captain.
Ultimate Kho Kho 2022 Full Squads
Chennai Quick Guns
Attackers: Balvir Singh, Jaswant Singh, Manoj Patil, P Narasayya, Sachin Gaur, V Kabilan, and Venu Gopal S.
Defenders: Buchannagari Raju, Daasari Jeevith Rao, Vignesh M, Mahesh Madhukar Shinde, N Suresh, P Anand Kumar, Prasad Vijay Patil, Pritam Ankush Chougule, S. Santhru, Sibin. M, and Vijay Vegad Jagdishbhai.
All-rounders: M Vignesh, Amit Vasant Patil, Madan, P Jai Prasath, Rajvardhan Shankar Patil, K Ram, Ramji Kashyap.
Gujarat Giants
Attackers: Abhinandan Mahadev Patil, Ranjan Sridhar Shetty, Chinmoy Nandi, Nilesh Sarjerao Patil, Praful Raju Bhange, S Kavin Raj, Sagar Subhash Lengare, S Sarathkumar, and Shubham Motiramji Jambhale.
Defenders: Mareppa, Ajay Kumar Mandra, Akshay Sandeep Bhangare, Aniket Bhagawan Pote, Dhiraj Vinod Bhave, Manoj Sarkar, Sagar Deepakraj, Saleem Khan, and Vinayak Sadashiv Pokarde.
All-rounders: Pothireddy Sivareddy, Debendra Nath, Suyash Vishwas, T Jagannath, Rutishbhai Jayantibhai.
Mumbai Khiladis
Attackers: Kurpe Milind Rajendra, Shreejesh S, Abhishek Pathrode, Durvesh Vikas Salunke, Rajesh Kumar, Avik Singha, Bichu S S, Rahul Bharat Sawant, Devendra Dagur, and Ummer Ahmad Rathar.
Defenders: Rohan Bapuso Kore, Vijay Gajanan Hajare, Faizankha Sherkha Pathan, Gajanan Maruti Shengal, Rohit Verma, Sourabh Nathaji Ahir, Sribin Kp, Gaurav Kandpal, Abishek M S, Rajat Malik, Harish Mohmmad, Gaurav, and Srijin J.
All-rounders: Visag S
Odisha Juggernauts
Attackers: Suraj Shital Lande, Mahesha P, Avinash Shivaji Desai, Lipun Mukhi, Dinesh Naik S, Shiv Kumar Sen, Manoj Narayan Ghotekar, Darshanapu Sathish, Mukesh Prajapat
Defenders: Gowtham MK, Vishal, Suresh Kumar, Thugana Vinod Kumar, Gurjinder Singh, and Swayam Satyaprakash Parija.
All-rounders: Dilip Khandavi, Jagannatha Murmu, Aditya Sunil Kudale, Nilesh Ananda Jadhav, Dipesh Vijay More, Subhasis Santra, Arjun Singh, and Milind Dilip Chavarekar.
Rajasthan Warriors
Attackers: Sourabh Shivaji Adavkar, Suresh Shamrao Sawant, Majahar Kalandar Jamadar, Mohammed Taseen, Konjengbam Dhananjoy Singh, Sushant Sanjay Kaldhone, Atla Siva Nagi Reddy, Biswajit Das, Ashwani Ranjan, and Mukesh Maurya.
Defenders: Dilrajsing Rekha Sengar, Akshay Prashant Ganpule, SK. Murtaja Ali, Jithin B, Tapan Pal, Mahesh M, and Bhuneshwar Sahu.
All-rounders: Abhijit Patil, Sushant Dattatray, Hrushikesh Vijay Murchavade, Shailesh Mahadev Sankapal, Govind Yadav, Bharat Kumar Pradhan, Nikhil B, Yalla Satish.
Telugu Yoddhas
Attackers: Prajwal KH, Adarsh Dattatray Mohite, Subramani V, Gavara Venkatesh, Thokchom Sadananda Meitei, P Hemachandran, Sachin Bhargo, Dhanush K C, Aditya Das, and Sinam Rokeson Singh.
Defenders: Sudershan, Deepak Vitthal Madhav, Avdhut Bharat Patil, Prasad Vaibhav Radye, Dhruv, and Bojjam Ranjith.
All-rounders: Pratik Waikar, Rohan Shingade, Arun SA, Arun Ashok Gunki, Anukul Sarkar, and Pittu Bala Sambi Reddy.