Bhubaneswar: The Ultimate Kho Kho (UKK) is all set for Season 2 as the country’s best 145 players, including 33 young talents from the range of 16 to 18 years of age, were hand-picked by six franchises during the Players Draft conducted in Bhubaneshwar.
Adding more energy and speed into the squad, teams made interesting choices with a focus on giving opportunity to promising youngsters as Mumbai Khiladis ensured the services of the 16-year-old Sunil Patra from Odisha, while 17-year-olds M Mugilan of Puducherry and Maharashtra’s Ganesh Borkar was drafted by Chennai Quick Guns and Rajasthan Warriors respectively.
“Ultimate Kho Kho will be driving young Indian fans in Season 2. From a total Player Pool of 272, franchises drafted 145 players. What makes it absolutely special is 33 players in Season 2 will be young 16 to 18 year olds. With an average age of 22.5 years, Season 2 is poised to be faster, stronger and bolder visual spectacle for fans across,” commented Tenzing Niyogi, Ultimate Kho Kho CEO and League Commissioner.
Promoted by Amit Burman in collaboration with the Kho Kho Federation of India (KKFI), Ultimate Kho Kho remains steadfast in its mission to reimagine the growth of indigenous sport with more significant dynamism and engagement.
Defending champions Odisha Juggernauts ensured a perfect balance of youth and experience as they selected a strong squad.
“As defending champions, last year we had a very good team so we have retained our major players. Kho-Kho is a very technical game and we gave the responsibility to the coaches, discussed it with them. We had done our homework and picked a very good team. There are many new players and also some upcoming players from Odisha also. We expect that we will defend our title,” commented Lilan Prasad Sahu, OSD, Sports & Youth Services Department, Government of Odisha.
While the retained players were offered ₹6 lakh each, franchises picked their remaining players from four categories—A (₹5 lakh), B (₹3 lakh), C (₹1.5 lakh) and D (₹1 lakh). Gujarat Giants and Rajasthan Warriors drafted 25 and 22 players respectively to complete their squads.
A total of 290 players were registered for the Season 2 Players Draft from 18 states as franchises spent ₹3.9 crore to draft 145 players including 18 retained players. Vijay Hajare, Adhithya Ganpule and Laxman Gawas were among the star players who were handpicked first by Rajasthan Warriors (owned by Capri Global), Telugu Yoddhas and Chennai Quick Guns (owned by KLO Sports), respectively.
The thrilling action from Season 2 of India’s first-ever franchise-based Kho-Kho league will be broadcasted live on Sony Pictures Networks India (SPNI)’s sports channels as well as livestream on Sony LIV.
Squad:
Odisha Juggernauts: Dilip Khandvi (Retained), Dipesh More (Retained), Gowtham MK (Retained), Vishal (Retained), Omkar Sonawane, Rohan Shingade, Akshay Masal, Mahesha P, Manoj Patil, Avinash Desai, Manoj Kumar, Visag S, Debendra Nath, Nikhil Kumar, Vishal Oram, Sanjay Kumar V, Deepak Kumar Sahoo, Nikhil B, MD Mirajul, Sushant Kaldhone, Sobhag V Sriganda, Niranjan Samal, Savir Ahmad, Suresh Kumar and Siddheswar Tudu.
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