Santhal Strikers sign Ishan Kishan for Rs 14.7 lakh, Robin Minz emerges costliest buy in Jharkhand T20 League auction

Ranchi, May 30: The Jharkhand State Cricket Association (JSCA) on Saturday conducted the first-ever player auction for the inaugural edition of the Jharkhand T20 League at Wave International Hotel on NH-33. A total of 275 cricketers were included in the auction pool as six franchises built their squads for the upcoming tournament.

The six teams — Ranchi Titans, Jamshedpur Steelers, Chota Nagpur Royals, Koylanchal Super Kings, Dhanbad Diamonds and Santhal Strikers — were given an auction purse of Rs 50 lakh each.

Chota Nagpur Royals spent the highest amount on Virat Singh, who was bought for Rs 13 lakh. Md. Nazim Siddiqui was picked for Rs 7.25 lakh, while Vikash Singh went for Rs 6 lakh. Other players bought by the franchise include Supriyo Chakraborty, Pankaj Yadav, Deepsanshu Rawat, Sonu Kumar Singh, Durgesh Kumar, Chandan Mukhi and Sresth Sagar.

Dhanbad Diamonds signed Sushant Mishra for Rs 11 lakh and Pankaj Kumar for Rs 10.75 lakh. Bal Krishna was bought for Rs 7.25 lakh, while Atul Singh Surwar joined for Rs 3.75 lakh. Other players in the squad are Bilesh Dutta, Vikash Kumar Vishal, Md. Shamshad, Vivekanand Tiwari, Aditya Singh, Aryaman Sen, Tanish Choubey and Prabhat Kumar Yadav.

Jamshedpur Steelers roped in Md. Kounain Quraishi for Rs 12.5 lakh and Sahil Raj for Rs 8.75 lakh. Kumar Deobrat was purchased for Rs 6 lakh, while Anukul Roy joined for Rs 4 lakh. The franchise also signed Niteen Kumar Pandey, Ravi Sharma, Siddhanth Raghuvanshi, Sameer Sharma, Kumar Karan and Adarsh Giri.

Koylanchal Super Kings made Robin Minz their costliest pick at Rs 15.25 lakh. Shubham Sharma was bought for Rs 7 lakh and Utkarsh Singh for Rs 6.25 lakh. Harsh Raj and Amit Kumar were both purchased for Rs 4.25 lakh each. Other players include Sharandeep Singh, Yogesh Bhaskar and Sentu Kumar Yadav.

Ranchi Titans picked Shikhar Mohan for Rs 11 lakh and Rajandeep Singh for Rs 9 lakh. Shrestha was bought for Rs 6.75 lakh, while Jatin Pandey joined for Rs 4 lakh. Other players bought by the franchise are Saurabh Shekhar, Ayush Bhardwaj, Prince Murmu, Aryan Hooda, Yash P Bhagat, Ishan Om, Kumar Ankit, Satya Setu and Om Singh.

Santhal Strikers spent Rs 14.7 lakh on Ishan Kishan, making him one of the biggest buys of the auction. Sumit Kumar and Arvind Kumar were bought for Rs 6 lakh each, while Anmol Raj joined for Rs 5 lakh. Other players in the team are Manishi, Vivek Kumar, Ravi Yadav, Vikas Kumar, Kumar Suraj, Raunak Kumar, Vibhor Pandey, Ritesh Patel and Ojus Wardhan.

“Jharkhand has been such an integral part of Indian cricket for a long time, and the Jharkhand T20 League will only further strengthen that core and create a pipeline for notable and aspiring cricketers alike,” JSCA President Ajay Nath Shah Deo said.

JSCA Vice President Sanjay Pandey added, “The main aim for Jharkhand State Cricket Association has always been to provide the state’s cricketers the best opportunity to excel at the state, national, and international level, and we are sure that the Jharkhand T20 League is a step in the right direction towards that.”

“The importance of playing leagues is something that I have experienced first-hand and benefited from. I am confident that every cricketer, senior and upcoming, will benefit from the Jharkhand T20 League and continue growing their talent,” JSCA Secretary Saurabh Tiwary said regarding the auction.

The JSCA placed seven players in the premium Icon category with a base price of ₹4 lakh. Category A (Senior State Players) will start with a base price of ₹75,000, with prices scaling down through subsequent tiers to Category C2.

The inaugural season of the Jharkhand T20 League is expected to begin in June and will feature top cricketers from across the state.