Maharaja Trophy KSCA T20 Season 5 auction: Karun Nair tops at ₹18 lakh
Synopsis
Two new franchises rewrote the Maharaja Trophy KSCA T20 auction record on 5 June: Coastal Kings Mangaluru paid a tournament-high ₹18 lakh for Karun Nair, while Shivamogga Yodhas secured Smaran R for ₹15.75 lakh. With established names like Manish Pandey, Abhinav Manohar, and Mayank Agarwal also changing hands, Season 5 is shaping up as the most competitive edition yet.
Key Takeaways
Karun Nair was the costliest buy at a tournament-high ₹18 lakh , snapped up by Coastal Kings Mangaluru .
Smaran R went to Shivamogga Yodhas for ₹15.75 lakh , the second-largest bid of the auction.
Abhinav Manohar (₹13.50 lakh), Manish Pandey (₹12.75 lakh), and Mayank Agarwal (₹11.50 lakh) were among the other high-value acquisitions.
Devdutt Padikkal and Prasidh Krishna joined Mysore Warriors at ₹2.60 lakh each , subject to their availability.
The tournament runs from 20 June to 12 July across Mysuru , Hubballi , and Bengaluru , featuring six franchises .
The Maharaja Trophy KSCA T20 Season 5 player auction in Bengaluru on 5 June saw the two newest franchises — Coastal Kings Mangaluru and Shivamogga Yodhas — dominate the bidding, securing the day's priciest buys in Karun Nair and Smaran R. Coastal Kings Mangaluru paid a tournament-high ₹18 lakh for Karun, while Shivamogga Yodhas acquired Smaran for ₹15.75 lakh, the second-largest sum of the session.
Top Buys of the Auction
Hubli Tigers made the next biggest move, landing Abhinav Manohar for ₹13.50 lakh. Gulbarga Mystics strengthened their batting resources with Manish Pandey at ₹12.75 lakh and explosive all-rounder Macneil Noronha at ₹12.25 lakh. Mysore Warriors invested ₹11.50 lakh in batter Chethan LR, while Hubli Tigers matched that figure to secure Mayank Agarwal. Kalyani Bengaluru Blasters brought in all-rounder Shubhang Hegde for ₹11 lakh.
Coastal Kings Mangaluru rounded out their marquee purchases with spinner Shreyas Gopal at ₹10.25 lakh, experienced all-rounder Koushik V for ₹8 lakh, and Suraj Ahuja for ₹6 lakh. The franchise also added Venkatesh M (₹3.40 lakh), Nikin Jose (₹2.40 lakh), Dheeraj Gowda (₹2 lakh), and Anvay Dravid (₹0.90 lakh).
Franchise-by-Franchise Highlights
Gulbarga Mystics further bolstered their squad with Melu Kranthi Kumar (₹8.75 lakh), Sharath BR (₹5.75 lakh), Dhruv Prabhakar (₹4.25 lakh), Paras Gurbax Arya (₹3.60 lakh), Thippa Reddy (₹2.40 lakh), Prakhar Chaturvedi (₹1.90 lakh), and Ronit More (₹1.40 lakh).
Hubli Tigers added Hardik Raj and Manvanth Kumar at ₹7.50 lakh each, Shikhar Shetty (₹4 lakh), Mohammed Taha and Aneeshwar Gautam at ₹3.20 lakh each, plus Rakshith S (₹1.90 lakh), Vaibhav Sharma (₹1.20 lakh), Shreesha S Achar (₹1 lakh), and Kumar LR (₹0.95 lakh).
Kalyani Bengaluru Blasters secured Pravin Dubey (₹9.50 lakh), KL Shrijith (₹9 lakh), Rohan Patil (₹5.75 lakh), Vidwath Kaverappa (₹5 lakh), Shivraj S (₹1.80 lakh), Rohan Naveen (₹1.70 lakh), and Samit Dravid (₹1.50 lakh).
Mysore Warriors added Vyshak Vijaykumar for ₹8.25 lakh and brought in Karnataka internationals Devdutt Padikkal and Prasidh Krishna — subject to their availability — at ₹2.60 lakh each. The franchise also picked up Karthikeya KP (₹5 lakh), Madhav Prakash Bajaj (₹3.20 lakh), Karthik SU and Lavish Kaushal (₹3 lakh each), Monish Reddy (₹2.40 lakh), and Manoj Bhandage (₹10 lakh).
Shivamogga Yodhas supplemented Smaran R with Luvnith Sisodia (₹7.75 lakh), Yashraj Punja (₹5 lakh), Naveen MG (₹4.75 lakh), Yashovardhan Parantap (₹3.40 lakh), Mohsin Khan (₹2 lakh), Aadarsh Prajwal (₹1.90 lakh), and Tushar Singh and Aneesh KV at ₹1.80 lakh each.
The Tournament: Dates, Venues, and Teams
The fifth edition of the Maharaja Trophy KSCA T20 runs from 20 June to 12 July, spread across Mysuru, Hubballi, and Bengaluru. The six competing franchises are Coastal Kings Mangaluru, Gulbarga Mystics, Hubli Tigers, Kalyani Bengaluru Blasters, Mysore Warriors, and Shivamogga Yodhas — the last two being new entrants this season.
What the Auction Signals
The arrival of two new franchises injected fresh competition into the bidding room, visibly inflating prices at the top end. Karun Nair's ₹18 lakh hammer price is the highest in the tournament's history, reflecting both his experience at the first-class and IPL level and the new franchises' intent to build credible squads quickly. Notably, the inclusion of India internationals such as Devdutt Padikkal and Prasidh Krishna — even at nominal fees pending availability — signals the KSCA's ambition to raise the tournament's profile ahead of the 20 June opener.
Point of View
And Coastal Kings Mangaluru has done exactly that. What is more interesting is the nominal acquisition of Devdutt Padikkal and Prasidh Krishna at ₹2.60 lakh each: if available, two India-capped players at basement prices could be the shrewdest deals of the day. The KSCA's expansion to six teams also raises a structural question — whether the domestic talent pool is deep enough to sustain quality across all squads, or whether the bottom of each roster will be thinly contested.
NationPress
13 Aug 2026
Frequently Asked Questions
Who was the most expensive player at the Maharaja Trophy KSCA T20 Season 5 auction?
Karun Nair was the costliest buy, fetching a tournament-high ₹18 lakh from Coastal Kings Mangaluru at the Season 5 player auction held on 5 June in Bengaluru.
Which team bought Smaran R and for how much?
Shivamogga Yodhas acquired Smaran R for ₹15.75 lakh, making him the second-most expensive player at the auction. Shivamogga Yodhas is one of two new franchises introduced in Season 5.
When and where will the Maharaja Trophy KSCA T20 Season 5 be played?
The fifth edition runs from 20 June to 12 July across three venues — Mysuru, Hubballi, and Bengaluru — featuring six franchises.
Which India internationals were picked up at the auction?
Manish Pandey (Gulbarga Mystics, ₹12.75 lakh), Mayank Agarwal (Hubli Tigers, ₹11.50 lakh), Devdutt Padikkal, and Prasidh Krishna (both Mysore Warriors, ₹2.60 lakh each, subject to availability) were among the prominent India-capped names acquired.
What are the two new franchises in Maharaja Trophy KSCA T20 Season 5?
Coastal Kings Mangaluru and Shivamogga Yodhas are the two new franchises added for Season 5. Both made an immediate impact at the auction, securing the top two bids of the day.
