Kerala League Player Auction: All-rounder M.S. Akhil bags highest paycheck

Thiruvananthapuram, Aug 10 (IANS) All-rounder M.S. Akhil has emerged as the player with the highest paycheck in the Kerala Cricket League (KCL) player auction held on Saturday, after being sold for INR 7.4 lakh to the Trivandrum Royals.

In the auction moderated by Charu Sharma in Thiruvananthapuram on Saturday, wicketkeeper Varun Nayanar was picked up by the Thrissur Titans for INR 7.2 lakh, while all-rounder Manu Krishnan went to the Kochi Blue Tigers for the same amount.

Batter Salman Nisar was acquired by the Calicut Globstars for INR 7 lakh, while fast-bowler KM Asif, who played four matches for the Chennai Super Kings (CSK) in the Indian Premier League (IPL), was acquired by the Kollam Sailors for INR 5.2 lakh.

In the C category, all-rounder M. Nikhil, with a base price of INR 50,000, was sold for INR 4.6 lakh to the Calicut Globstars. The Kerala Cricket Association (KCA) had 168 players' names listed in the auction.

Players were divided into four categories: Category A, with a base price of INR 2 lakh, included IPL and the Ranji Trophy players; Category B, with a base price of INR 1 lakh, featured CK Naidu, U-23, and U-19 players.

Category C, with a base price of INR 50,000, consisted of under-16 state, university players, and club cricketers. Notably, seven players from Category B were sold for higher amounts than the basic salary of Category A, with all-rounder Akshay Manohar fetching the highest price of INR 3.6 lakh in category C, where he was acquired by the Thrissur Titans.

A total of 108 players were auctioned by the franchises. All 31 players in Category A were successfully acquired, while 21 out of 43 players in Category B and 56 out of 94 players in Category C found teams.

Among the icon players already selected by the franchises are P.A. Abdul Basit (Trivandrum Royals), Sachin Baby (Kollam Sailors), Mohammad Azharuddin (Alleppey Ripples), Basil Thampi (Kochi Blue Tigers), Vishnu Vinod (Thrissur Titans), and Rohan S. Kunnammal (Calicut Globstars).

The matches of the inaugural edition of the KCL are scheduled to be held at the Sports Hub, Greenfield International Stadium in Thiruvananthapuram, from September 2-19, with two games taking place each day (in the afternoon and evening).

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