Bhubaneswar: Odisha Juggernauts assembled a strong squad with a balance of youth and experience for the second season of Ultimate Kho Kho League.
Winners of the inaugural edition last year, the Juggernauts retained their major players and also roped in some talented men from the state and elsewhere during the Players Draft conducted here on Wednesday.
“As defending champions, last year we had a very good team, so we have retained our major players. Kho-Kho is a very technical game and we gave the responsibility to the coaches, discussed it with them. We had done our homework and picked a very good team. There are many new players and also some upcoming players from Odisha also. We expect to defend our title,” said Lilan Prasad Sahu, OSD, Odisha Department of Sports & Youth Affairs.
From a total player pool of 272, the six franchises picked 145 players, including 33 young talents in the age-group of 16 to 18 years.
Mumbai Khiladis ensured the services of 16-year-old Sunil Patra from Odisha.
The retained players were offered Rs 6 lakh each. The remaining players were picked from four categories — A (Rs 5 lakh), B (Rs 3 lakh), C (Rs 1.5 lakh) and D (Rs 1 lakh).
The second season of India’s first-ever franchise-based Kho Kho league will be telecast live on Sony Sports network and also livestreamed on Sony LIV.
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