Pics: Dayanand Kukkaje
Daijiworld Media Network—Mangalore (RS/CN)
Mangalore, Aug 30: After conducting cricket tournaments along the reality show format, the Mangalore United team of the Karnataka Premier League (KPL) selected four local players on Sunday August 30.
M D S Khan, Mohammed Asif, Rohan Shetty, and Janardhan, are those selected. They were selected in cricket tournaments held at the grounds of the National Institute of Technology- Karnataka (NIT-K) in Suratkal.
Owner of the team Moideen Bava said that they have selected four players based on their performance in all the innings, though the requirement is for three players. He also said that they had cancelled two innings in the final of the tournament due to rain. “We have selected the players based on their overall performance”, he added.
At the end of the tournament, the team owners arranged for a road show of team members. The road show started from Surathakal and ended at Nehru Maidan in the city.
The team has selected six players in bidding and nine players in selection rounds. As per the rules of the KPL, only three players can be selected locally. From a big list of 425 applicants, 74 were shortlisted to play in the reality show organized for the selection. After finishing the three-day tournament, the list came down to 14 players.
On Sunday, these 14 players and the KPL team played the final round and the four were selected.
Bharth Chipli will lead the Mangalore United team. Udith Patel, Aravinda S, Karun Nayar, Janathan K, Abdul Khader, Rohith Sabarval, Azgar Pasha, B C Rajesh, Nickel Haldeep, Umesh Kharvi, Kiran Kumar, Keshava Chitti, K N Bharath, and Vijaya Chauhan are the other team members.
Sanath Kumar will be the coach for the team and actress Sindhu will be the team’s brand ambassador.