Mysuru: Defending Champions Mysore Warriors of city’s NR Group roped in international cricketer Manish Pandey for Rs. 12.20 lakh during the players auction held at a private hotel in Bengaluru yesterday. Among the other top players bought during the auction include K. Gowtham (Rs. 4.40 lakh) and Shikhar Shetty (Rs. 4.70 lakh).

Mysore Warriors have signed a total 18 players to represent franchise at this year’s KSCA Maharaja Trophy T20 Tournament to be held at the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium from Aug. 11 to Aug. 27. Earlier the team management had announced the retentions of Karun Nair (Rs. 6.80 lakh), Prasidh M. Krishna (Rs. 3 lakh), C.A. Karthik (Rs. 4.20 lakh) and S.U. Karthik (Rs. 50,000).

Mysore Warriors team will be competing against Hubballi Tigers, Bangalore Blasters, Mangalore Dragons, Gulbarga Mystics and Shimmoga Lions in the tournament.

Speaking at the auction, Cycle Pure Agarbathi Managing Director and Mysore Warriors Owner Arjun Ranga said, “We are delighted to have selected some of the best players in the State to represent Mysore Warriors at the fourth edition of the Maharaja Trophy. We are ecstatic to witness the team’s performance and are hoping to win this year’s title. We are optimistic, as the team will definitely bring the fight to the field, for truly entertaining matches.”

Mysore Warriors will be conducting its Talent Hunt to select two catchment players for the team at SDNR Wadiyar Stadium at Manasagangothri on July 30.

The players roped in during the auction are: Karun Nair (Rs. 6.80 lakh), Prasidh M. Krishna (Rs. 2 lakh), Manish Pandey (Rs. 12.20 lakh), S.U. Karthik (Rs. 50,000), C.A. Karthik (Rs. 4.20 lakh), K. Gowtham (Rs. 4.40 lakh), Yashovardhan Parantap (Rs. 2 lakh), M. Venkatesh (Rs. 2 lakh), L.R. Kumar (Rs. 1.50 lakh), Harshil Dharmani (Rs. 3.20 lakh), Goutam Mishra (Rs. 2.25 lakh), Shikhar Shetty (Rs. 4.70 lakh), K.S. Lankesh (Rs. 50,000), Sumit Kumar                                                            (Rs. 1 lakh), Dhanush Gowda (Rs. 50,000), S.M. Shamanth (Rs. 50,000), Kushaal M. Wadhwani (Rs. 50,000) and Sharath Srinivas (Rs. 1 lakh).