The auction of players for Karnataka’s prestigious T20 league Maharaja Trophy KSCA 2026 has been completed. The tournament will be organized between June 20 and July 12. The biggest discussion of this auction was about the vice-captain of the Indian Test team and star wicketkeeper batsman KL Rahul, who was not bought by any team. Rahul, who performed brilliantly for Delhi Capitals in IPL 2026, scored 593 runs in 14 matches. During the same season, he also made the record of the biggest innings played by an Indian male batsman in T20 cricket. Despite this, he remained unsold in the auction.

Reason for doubt over availability

The main reason for Rahul remaining unsold is believed to be his availability. Being a regular member of the Indian team, his international schedule is quite busy. India has to play the third ODI against Afghanistan on June 20, while an ODI series against England is also scheduled on July 14.
During the auction, when questions were asked about Rahul’s availability, the auctioneer indicated that his chances of playing in the tournament were less. Due to this uncertainty, no franchise placed bets on him.

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The biggest bid on Karun Nair

Indian batsman Karun Nair got the highest price in the auction. Coastal Kings Mangaluru included him in their team for Rs 18 lakh. With this he became the most expensive player of this season. At the same time, Shivamogga Yodhas, who became a part of the league for the first time, bought young batsman Ravichandran Smaran, who played for Sunrisers Hyderabad in the IPL, for Rs 15.75. Apart from this, the teams added Abhinav Manohar for Rs 13.5 lakh, Manish Pandey for Rs 12.75 lakh and Mayank Agarwal for Rs 11.50 lakh. All these players were included in the list of most expensive players of the auction.

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Six teams will participate

This will be the fifth edition of Maharaja Trophy KSCA T20. This time six teams will participate in the tournament. These include Kalyani Bengaluru Blasters, Hubli Tigers, Mysore Warriors, Gulbarga Mystics, Coastal Kings Mangaluru and Shivamogga Yoddhas. In the tournament, once again many experienced and young players of Karnataka will get a chance to showcase their talent, while the results of the auction have created an atmosphere of discussion even before the start of the season.

Indian Test team vice-captain KL Rahul has suffered a shock. After performing well for Delhi Capitals in IPL 2026, Rahul entered the Maharaja Trophy auction, where no team bid on him. Maharaja Trophy is organized by Karnataka State Cricket Association (KSCA).

The Maharaja Trophy was earlier known as the Karnataka Premier League, but was renamed ‘Maharaja Trophy KSCA T20’ in 2022. The 2026 season will start from 20th June and the final will be played on 12th July.

KL Rahul remained unsold

KL Rahul had kept his base price at Rs 2 lakh in the auction, but none of the 6 teams bid on him in the opening round. This happened because due to the Indian cricket schedule, there were question marks over Rahul’s availability in the Maharaja Trophy. Team India has to play a lot of matches in the next 3 months and the franchises did not want to waste money on a player who had no guarantee of playing. KL Rahul scored 593 runs in 14 matches for Delhi Capitals in IPL 2026.

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Many players including Padikkal and Manish Pandey were sold

KL Rahul may have remained unsold in the auction, but Devdutt Padikkal, Manish Pandey, Mayank Agarwal, Shreyas Gopal and Karun Nair also found buyers.

A total of 6 teams will participate in the Maharaja Trophy, namely Kalyani Bengaluru Masters, Gulbarga Mystics, Shivamogga Yoddha, Mysore Warriors, Coastal Kings Mangaluru, Hubli Tigers. This will be the fifth edition of this tournament. So far, the Maharaja Trophy has been won once each by Gulberg Mystics, Hubli Tigers, Mysore Warriors and Mangaluru Dragons. Bengaluru Blasters reached the finals twice, but could not win the title.

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