KSCA T20: Agarwal, Padikkal, Pandey among stars to go under hammer in auction
Bengaluru(PTI): Prominent Karnataka state stars such as Mayank Agarwal, Devdutt Padikkal and Manish Pandey are among 700 cricketers who will be up for grabs during the player auction here on Saturday, ahead of the Maharaja Trophy KSCA T20.
This year's tournament will be held at a single venue the M Chinnaswamy Stadium from August 14 to 30. Mangaluru Dragons and Shivamogga Lions have been added to the tournament, expanding the number of participating teams to six.
The existing teams are defending champions Gulbarga Mystics, runners-up Bengaluru Blasters, Mysuru Warriors and Hubli Tigers.
Each of those franchises will have a purse of Rs 50 lakh and they will have to purchase a minimum of 16 players and the squad strength should not exceed 18.
Players will be slotted into four categories. While the Category A will feature India and IPL players, the Category B will have all senior players who have played BCCI state tournaments such as the Vijay Hazare Trophy, Ranji Trophy and Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy.
The Category C will consist of players from all other BCCI tournaments, and Category D is reserved for all registered players of KSCA.
BK Sampath Kumar, the commissioner of Maharaja Trophy and KSCA vice president said, "Last edition was a tremendous success. We saw many young players make the most of the opportunity. We want to see more youngsters from Karnataka showcase their potential.
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Kerala leader M A Baby elected CPIM general secretary
Madurai(PTI): Former Kerala minister M A Baby was elected as the CPI(M) general secretary at the 24th party congress here on Sunday, sources said.
A section of the party leaders had backed All India Kisan Sabha (AIKS) president Ashok Dhawale for the post.
Born to P M Alexander and Lilly Alexander in Kerala's Prakkulam in 1954, Baby's first exposure to politics came when he joined the Kerala Students Federation, the predecessor of the Students Federation of India, during his school days.
He was a member of the Rajya Sabha from 1986 to 1998.
Baby has been a member of the Politburo, the highest decision-making body of the CPI(M), since 2012.
The post of the party general secretary fell vacant following the death of Sitaram Yechury last year, after which Prakash Karat took over as the interim coordinator.
The 24th party congress of the CPI(M) began on April 2 and will end on Sunday.
