Mumbai Khiladis pick strong team in Ultimate Kho Kho Season 2 Players Draft

Mumbai, November 22, 2023: Ultimate Kho Kho (UKK) is all set for Season 2 as Punit Balan co-owned Mumbai Khiladis selected 26 talented players during the Players Draft conducted in Bhubaneshwar.

Adding more energy and speed into the squad, Mumbai Khiladis made interesting choices with a focus on giving opportunity to promising youngsters as they ensured the services of the 16-year-old Sunil Patra from Odisha. They also added top performers from the last season including Mumbai boy Aniket Pote and Subhasis Santra into their squad.

“We have retained Gajanan and Sreejesh. It was a good draft and there are around 8-10 players from Maharashtra who will play for Mumbai Khiladis. We have also picked some of the players who were part of the team in the last season. You need technique as well as young legs in this game because it’s fast. Keeping such combinations in mind, we have made a team of 26 players for the upcoming season and I hope they will perform well,” said Punit Balan, co-owner of Mumbai Khiladis.

Interestingly, Mumbai Khiladis made the first pick of the Season 2 draft when they selected Thane’s Mahesh Shinde. Besides the 28-year-old defender, Mumbai Khiladis retained Gajanan Shengal and Sreejesh S after their impressive performances in the inaugural edition of the league. Mumbai Khiladis is co-owned by Punit Balan, Janhavi Dhariwal Balan and Badshah.

Promoted by Amit Burman in collaboration with the Kho Kho Federation of India (KKFI), Ultimate Kho Kho remains steadfast in its mission to reimagine the growth of indigenous sport with more significant dynamism and engagement.

“The Ultimate Kho Kho Season 1 is a testament to its unwavering success as it registered 164 million cumulative reach to become a prime-time staple in India. From a total of 145 drafted players, 33 are in the range of 16 to 18 years of age, which is 23% of the total strength and the average age of the 145 players is 22.5 years which means the Season 2 will be more faster, challenging, competitive and a visual spectacle for the fans. We want to make UKK a younger, urban and commercially viable product for the youth. We hope that Season 2 will reach a larger audience and inspire the youth of India,” commented Tenzing Niyogi, Ultimate Kho Kho CEO and League Commissioner.

While the retained players were offered ₹6 lakh each, franchises picked their remaining players from four categories—A (₹5 lakh), B (₹3 lakh), C (₹1.5 lakh) and D (₹1 lakh).

A total of 293 players were registered for the Season 2 Players Draft from 18 states as franchises spent ₹3.9 crore to draft 145 players including 18 retained players.

The thrilling action from Season 2 of India’s first-ever franchise-based Kho-Kho league will be broadcasted live on Sony Pictures Networks India (SPNI)’s sports channels as well as livestream on Sony LIV.

Complete Squads:

Mumbai Khiladis: Gajanan Shengal (Retained), Sreejesh S (Retained), Mahesh Shinde, Aniket Pote, Subhasis Santra, Hrushikesh Murchavade, Rokeson Singh, P Siva Reddy, Govind Yadav, Avik Singha, Milind Kurpe, Sunil Patra, Sudheer Kumar, MD Aiman Pasha, Sagar Potdar, Rohan Kore, Komal, Pawar Sachin, Dhiraj Bhave, Debasis, Shiva, Ajay Kashyap, Pritam Chougule, Sibin M, Abhishek Pathrode and Parmar Rahul.

Odisha Juggernauts: Dilip Khandvi (Retained), Dipesh More (Retained), Gowtham MK (Retained), Vishal (Retained), Omkar Sonawane, Rohan Shingade, Akshay Masal, Mahesha P, Manoj Patil, Avinash Desai, Manoj Kumar, Visag S, Debendra Nath, Nikhil Kumar, Vishal Oram, Sanjay Kumar V, Deepak Kumar Sahoo, Nikhil B, MD Mirajul, Sushant Kaldhone, Sobhag V Sriganda, Niranjan Samal, Savir Ahmad, Suresh Kumar and Siddheswar Tudu.

Telugu Yoddhas: Arun Gunki (Retained), Avdhut Patil (Retained), Pratik Waikar (Retained), Adhithya Ganpule, Rahul Mandal, Nikhil Waghe, Milind Chavrekar, Akash Togare, Kiran Vasave, Dhruv, Prasad Radye, Rudra Thopate, Prem Randive, Vaibhav Nippane, Sourabh Adavkar, Vijaybhai Vegad, Anukul Sarkar, M Phani Kumar, Mahamad Ujer Harun Momin, Matlum, Lipun Mukhi, Arjun Bishukarma, Prasad Patil, Bojjam Ranjith and Rajat Malik.

Chennai Quick Guns: Amit Patil (Retained), Madan (Retained), Ramji Kashyap (Retained), Laxman Gawas, Adarsh Mohite, Sachin Bhargo, Zora Suraj, Suraj Lande, Aditya Kudale, Durvesh Salunke, Chandu Chavre, Akash Kadam, Narendra Katkate, Mustafa Bagwan, Arjun Singh, Vijay Shinde, Ashish Patel, M Mugilan, Akash Balyan, Sumon Barman, Pavan Kumar and Giri S.

Rajasthan Warriors: Akshay Ganpule (Retained), Dilrajsing Sengar (Retained), Majahar Jamadar (Retained), Vijay Hajare, Jaggannath Das, Rushab Wagh, Nilesh Patil, Prajwal K H, Brahmane Vivek, Ranjan Shetty, Rejeti Surinaidu, Sourabh Gadge, Nandan D, Ganesh Borkar, Bika Chetan, Buchannagari Raju, Dhanraj P, Jagannath Murmu, Aditya Shelke, Mukesh Prajapat, Vaibhav More and Aditya KN.

Gujarat Giants: Abhinandan Patil (Retained), Akshay Bhangare (Retained), Suyash Gargate (Retained), Nilesh Jadhav, P Narasayya, Faizankha Pathan, Rajvardhan Patil, V Subramani, Deepak Madhav, Shubham Thorat, Gavara Venkatesh, Sanket Kadam, Kondhalkar Rupesh, Bharat Kumar, Pabani Sabar, Vinayak Pokarde, Ram Mohan, V Kabilan, Arnav Patankar, Alfaj H Nadaf, Vasave Ravi, Abhijit Patil, Saleem Khan, Vijesh Kumar and Harish Mohmmad.

About Ultimate Kho Kho:
The concept of Ultimate Kho Kho (UKK) was conceived to usher in a new era for India’s very own game. India’s first professional Kho-Kho league UKK is a collaboration between Mr. Amit Burman (Promoter) and Kho Kho Federation of India (KKFI) (India’s official Kho Kho federation). Ultimate Kho Kho is an initiative for supporting the development of this indigenous game in a professional and structured manner. The aim is to bring this homegrown sport to the forefront and develop UKK into a sought-after league in the country. The Ultimate Kho Kho envisions revolutionising Kho-Kho in India, elevating it to international standards and providing an opportunity to young talent to showcase their skills on a big and world-class platform. UKK has roped in Sony Pictures Networks India (SPNI) as its official broadcasting partner in a multi-year deal as the thrilling action from the league will be available live on SPNI’s sports channels as well as livestream on Sony LIV.