Prathyusha Challuru becomes most expensive player at Maharani Trophy auction as Bengaluru Blasters seal record Rs 4.5 lakh bid

India all-rounder Prathyusha Challuru secured a record bid of Rs 4.5 lakh from Kalyani Bengaluru Blasters during a high-stakes Maharani Trophy auction, where four franchises spent heavily to build formidable squads for the upcoming T20 tournament

Bengaluru: India all-rounder Prathyusha Challuru emerged as the most expensive buy in the auction for the women’s section of the Maharani Trophy by fetching a top bid of Rs 4.5 lakh from Kalyani Bengaluru Blasters. On Thursday, the four franchises spent heavily to get their desired players and complete their teams for the upcoming tournament.

The marquee tournament is scheduled to be played at the iconic M. Chinnaswamy Stadium from July 22 to August 2 and will be contested between four teams — Mysore Warriors, Gulbarga Mystics, Kalyani Bengaluru Blasters, and Hubli Tigers.

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The Blasters, Mysuru Warriors, and Hubli Tigers were not too far behind in the bidding war. The Warriors shelled out Rs 4.2 lakh for India Test batter Shubha Satheesh, while the Tigers grabbed highly-rated Karnataka prospect and India A batter Vrinda Dinesh for an identical amount of Rs 4.2 lakh.

The auction featured a maximum purse of Rs 20 lakh per franchise, with players divided into four categories. Pool A comprised capped WPL and international players with a base price of Rs 1 lakh, while Pool B (Rs 75,000), Pool C (Rs 50,000), and Pool D (Rs 30,000) featured state seniors, juniors, and local league performers, respectively.

Apart from breaking the bank for Prathyusha, Kalyani Bengaluru Blasters also consolidated their squad by picking up Chandasi K (Rs 2 lakh), U-19 World Cup winner, all-rounder Mithila Vinod (Rs 1.9 lakh), Namita D’Souza (Rs 1.9 lakh), and Ananya Hegde (Rs 1.1 lakh).

The Mysuru Warriors made several smart purchases to build a robust unit. Besides securing Shubha, they spent a whopping Rs 4.1 lakh on Shishira A Gowda and bought all-rounder Sahana S Pawar for Rs 2.8 lakh. They also added Pooja Kumari (Rs 1.1 lakh) and Pushpa Kiresur (Rs 1 lakh) to their roster.

The Gulbarga Mystics focused heavily on experienced heads, snapping up veteran Indian left-arm spinner Rajeshwari Gayakwad for a modest Rs 3.3 lakh. They also bagged wicketkeeper-batter Shreya Chavan for Rs 3.2 lakh, alongside useful reinforcements in Prerana GR (Rs 2.6 lakh), Soumya Verma (Rs 2.4 lakh), Roshini Kiran (Rs 1 lakh), and Aditi R (Rs 90,000).

Hubli Tigers successfully built a formidable core around Vrinda – the franchise roped in all-rounder and U19 World Cup-winning captain Niki Prasad for a handsome Rs 4.1 lakh, while also adding wicketkeeper-batter Prathyoosha K (Rs 2.3 lakh), experienced batter Divya Gnanananda (Rs 1.9 lakh), and left-arm seam all-rounder Monica C Patel (Rs 1.5 lakh) to complete a well-balanced squad.

Full squads:

Mysuru Warriors: Shubha Satheesh (Rs 4.20 lakh), Shishira A Gowda (Rs 4.10 lakh), Sahana S Pawar (Rs 2.80 lakh), Pooja Kumari (Rs 1.10 lakh), Pushpa Kiresur (Rs 1.00 lakh), Yashika K Gowda (Rs 0.90 lakh), Ahlam Fareeha Syed (Rs 0.90 lakh), Deeksha J (Rs 0.90 lakh), Vandita K Rao (Rs 0.90 lakh), Sheetal Santosh (Rs 0.55 lakh), Tanushree M (Rs 0.55 lakh), Stuthi M (Rs 0.50 lakh), Shreya Ajay Mishra (Rs 0.35 lakh), Kusuma Gowda N (Rs 0.30 lakh), Prathiksha C (Rs 0.30 lakh), Advika D Gowda (Rs 0.30 lakh), Vaishnavi BH (Rs 0.30 lakh).

Gulbarga Mystics: Rajeshwari Gayakwad (Rs 3.30 lakh), Shreya Chavan (Rs 3.20 lakh), Prerana GR (Rs 2.60 lakh), Soumya Verma (Rs 2.40 lakh), Krishika Reddy (Rs 2.10 lakh), Roshini Kiran (Rs 1.00 lakh), Aditi R (Rs 0.90 lakh), Nynisha Patil (Rs 0.85 lakh), Harshitha K (Rs 0.85 lakh), Trisha D A (Rs 0.60 lakh), Veda Varshini V (Rs 0.50 lakh), Poojitha G (Rs 0.50 lakh), S Sreeka Chathura (Rs 0.30 lakh), Karishma Gowda U J (Rs 0.30 lakh), Aadya S Mane (Rs 0.30 lakh), Kinjal B Patel (Rs 0.30 lakh).

Hubli Tigers: Vrinda Dinesh (Rs 4.20 lakh), Niki Prasad (Rs 4.10 lakh), Prathyoosha K (Rs 2.30 lakh), Divya Gnanananda (Rs 1.90 lakh), Monica C Patel (Rs 1.50 lakh), Deeksha CD (Rs 0.95 lakh), Priya Chavan (Rs 0.80 lakh), Rameshwari Gayakwad (Rs 0.70 lakh), Saina Kapoor (Rs 0.60 lakh), Aditi Bakka (Rs 0.50 lakh), Silkin Jeetubhai Patel (Rs 0.50 lakh), Nesara Saptagirish (Rs 0.50 lakh), Harshitha R (Rs 0.30 lakh), T Nireeksha (Rs 0.30 lakh), Aarushi Anand Sutar (Rs 0.30 lakh), Shreya B Pote (Rs 0.30 lakh).

Kalyani Bengaluru Blasters: Prathyusha Challuru (Rs 4.50 lakh), Chandasi K (Rs 2.00 lakh), Inchara C U (Rs 2.00 lakh), Mithila Vinod (Rs 1.90 lakh), Namita D’Souza (Rs 1.90 lakh), Rachitha Hatwar (Rs 1.90 lakh), Ananya Hegde (Rs 1.10 lakh), Karnika Karthick (Rs 1.10 lakh), Lavanya Chalana (Rs 0.90 lakh), Nandani Chauhan (Rs 0.50 lakh), Reethu R Gowda (Rs 0.50 lakh), Srinithi P Rai (Rs 0.50 lakh), Sakshi Doijode (Rs 0.30 lakh), Andrea Michelle Lobo (Rs 0.30 lakh), Aqfin Ruhi K (Rs 0.30 lakh), Pranathi KS (Rs 0.30 lakh).