The auction for the upcoming second season of Ultimate Kho Kho was organised in Bhubaneswar on Tuesday where a total of six franchises drafted players. In the A category, 30 players were selected for Rs 6 lakh each while in the B category 36 players were added at Rs 5 lakh each. 55 players were included in category C for Rs 3 lakh each and in category D 24 players got a chance for Rs 1.5 lakh.
The likes of Odisha Juggernauts, Chennai Quick Guns, Gujarat Giants, Mumbai Khiladis, Rajasthan Warriors, and Telugu Yoddhas are the six teams that will be showing their prowess in the tournament. The teams were allotted a total purse of INR 3.90 crore and all the teams were told to retain 18 players.
All the team owners were provided the option to select players on the basis of their respective draft sequence and purse capacity. A total of 245 players were there in the pool and they were divided into three segments. Those players who were retained by the franchisees were called the Power Players category.
Kho-kho Federation of India president Sudhanshu Mittal said, “Ultimate Kho Kho has provided international recognition to the sport which earlier belonged to rural areas or communities.
Today it has gained popularity and because of this sport players are getting jobs, awards, and admission to colleges. This game will soon be getting international recognition”.
He added, “Today at the draft event, I felt like a dream for Kho Kho coming true. This year we didn’t increase the money in the draft but from the third season, we will be doing the auctioning. This will add value to the game”. After a successful season one, the second season is all set to take place between December 24, 2023, and January 14 2024 in Cuttack. Fans are hoping to see yet another exhilarating action of Kho-Kho.