Maharani Pramoda Devi to inaugurate Maharaja Trophy starting August 7

Mysuru, 06 August 2022: The much-awaited Maharaja Trophy KSCA T20, organized by the Karnataka State Cricket Association is finally here, and it is set to start with a bang as the Hubli Tigers take on Mangalore United in the opening game of the tournament. The second game on Super Sunday will see Mysuru Warriors play Shivamogga Strikers.

Hubli Tigers is captained by Abhimanyu Mithun while Samarth R is going to lead Mangalore United. In the second game, Karun Nair will represent the Mysuru Warriors at the toss alongside K Gowtham of the Shivamogga Strikers. Both games will be played at the Srikantadatta Narasimharaja Wadiyar Cricket Ground in Mysuru.

However, before the games commence, the Maharaja Trophy KSCA T20 will be officially declared open by HRH Maharani of Mysuru Pramoda Devi, who will grace the occasion on Sunday afternoon.

Speaking ahead of the game, Hubli Tigers’ captain Abhimanyu Mithun said, “We are really happy that the T20 tournament is back in Karnataka. It not only gives more games and match practice and keeps us in top shape but also this is a great chance for a lot of players to make their case for further selection at various levels. And having the HRH Maharani of Mysuru Pramoda Devi watching on is an honour for all of us.”

While Hubli is not a star-studded squad, the Mangalore side have the former India international Stuart Binny in the think tank, as head coach, and also can call upon the experience of Abhinav Manohar alongside captain Samarth in what promises to be an exciting clash of equals.

If the first game on Sunday promises to be a cracker, the second has all the ingredients for a high-octane clash. The Mysuru Warriors led by Karun Nair will be in their very own backyard, as they welcome K Gowtham’s Shivamogga Strikers. While both captains have bags full of experience, Mysuru can call upon the services of the difficult-to-get-away Shreyas Gopal, just ask Virat Kohli, while the Strikers have a certain KC Cariappa in their ranks as well.

The experienced and well-travelled Karun Nair said, “There’s no better feeling than to be able to start of the tournament in Mysuru, in the presence of HRH Maharani of Mysuru Pramoda Devi. We have a strong opposition in front of us, so we need to be watchful and do what we do best. T20s is all about performing well on the day, and that’s what we need to do from Day 1.”

The three-week-long extravaganza begins on 7th August and will go on till 26th and will see six teams battle it out for top honours. The games will be broadcast on Star Sports 2, Star Kannada, and Fancode. The tournament will be held in two phases, first in Mysore and then in Bengaluru.

The inauguration ceremony will begin at 2:00 PM at the Srikantadatta Narasimharaja Wadiyar Cricket Ground in Mysuru.

Squads:

The Hubli Tigers: Abhimanyu Mithun (C), Luvnith Sisodia (WK), Koushik V, Liyan Khan, Naveen MG, Anand Doddamani, Shivkumar BU, Tushar Singh, Akshan Rao, Zahoor Farooqi, Rohan Naveen, Saurav Srivastav, Sagar Solanki (WK), Gowtham Sagar, Roshan Ashwathiah, Rahul Singh Rawat, Shishir Bhawane, Sharan Goud.

Mangalore United: Samarth R (C), Abhinav Manohar, Vyshak V, Amit Verma, Venkatesh M, Aneeshwar Gautam, Sujay Sateri, Rohith Kumar AC, Macneil Noronha, Sharath HS, Shashi Kumar K, Nikin Jose SJ, Raghuveer Pavalur, Amogh S, Chinmay NA, Aditya Somanna, Yashovardhan Parantap, Dheeraj J Gowda.

Mysuru Warriors: Karun Nair (C), Shreyas Gopal, Shubhang Hegde, Pavan Deshpande, Vidyadhar Patil, Nihal Ullal, Prateek Jain, Lochan Appanna, Chiranjeevi GS, Naga Bharath, Bharath Duri, Shivraj S, Monish Reddy, Varun Rao TN, Rahul Prasanna, Nitin Bhille, Aditya Goyal, Abhishek Ahlawat.

Shivamogga Strikers: K Gowtham (C), KC Cariappa, Rohan Kadam, Siddharth KV, Darshan MB, Stalin Hoover, Avinash D, Smaran R, Sharath BR (WK), Rajvir Wadhwa, Rajendra Danganavar, Utham Aiyappa, Chaitanya S, Shreyas BM, KS Devaiah, Vinay Sagar, Shreyas SP, Punith S.