KPL in September: Brijesh

The Karnataka Premier League is all set to take wings again this September with the new Karnataka State Cricket Association administration under secretary Brijesh Patel determined to revive the T20 tournament that was last played in 2010.

At the KSCA Awards Night on Sunday, Brijesh disclosed that the association was in talks with the franchises to restart the event. “We will have the KPL in September,” said Brijesh. “Bangalore, Hubli and Mysore have been identified as venues to host the event and we are in talks with broadcasters and sponsors.”

While praising the State senior team, which won an unprecedented three titles (Ranji Trophy, Irani Cup and Vijay Hazare Trophy), Brijesh expressed his concern over the performance of junior teams. “Our senior team has done very well but the performance of the U-14, 16 and 19 teams is worrying. Not one player from the State is in the NCA. We must maintain the supply chain if we want to continue our success,” he remarked.

The former India player also praised the previous committee under Anil Kumble for remodelling the Safi Darashah tournament. “It was a good move by the previous committee to turn the Safi Darashah into a four-day tournament. It has been beneficial.”

The awards ceremony, meanwhile, was held amidst chaos with rain wrecking the gala function for the evening. The organisers had set up the stage on the ground but intermittent showers put paid to their grand plans. The event was shifted to AGM Hall and was wrapped up in a hurried manner.

The KSCA financially rewarded four State women players who represented India. Kaurna Jain, Vanitha V R , Sonia Dabir and Rajeshwari S Gayakwad were given away Rs 2.5 lakh each.

Team awards: Winners: Group I: Division I: Friends Union CC; Division II: Malleswaram Gymkhana; Division III: Rajajinagar Cricketers; Division IV: Friends XI CC; Division V: Century Cricketers.

YS Ramaswamy Memorial: Friends Union CC. KSCA T20: Jawahar SC. U-16 inter-club: Jawahar SC. U-16 inter-school: Frank Anthony Public School. U-14 inter-school (BTR Shield): Division I: St. Joseph's BHS; II: Ebenezer IS; III: Gopalan PS

Individual awards: Best batsmen and bowlers: Group I: Division I: Sh­reyas Gopal, Udit Patel; II: M Kranthi Kumar, Vinay Vaishnav; III: Amit Cha­nd, TK Ananth; IV: Vishesh Khanna, Md Nasir; V: AV Sandeep, Santhosh.

U-25 (SAS Trophy): Liyan Khan, Abrar Kazi. YS Ramaswamy Memorial: Suneel Raju, Mitrakanth Yadav. KSCA T20: D Nischal, K Gowtham. U-19 inter-zonal: BR Sharath, Raj Gala.

U-16 inter-zonal: Nikin Jose, T Pruthvi. U-16 inter-club: Jayesh Babu, T Pruthvi. U-16 inter-school: Anchit Aiyappa, Sheetal Kumar. U-14 inter-zonal: Mitesh Madan, T Niranjan. U-14 inter-school (BTR Shield): Division I: Mitesh Madan, S Samarth; II: Akshay Kulkarni, CD Rahul; III: N. Rohan, Aditya Singh.

Most valuable players: Men and boys: U-25: Shreyas Gopal, Ronit More; U-22: D Nischal, IG Anil; U-19: Abhishek Reddy, KN Bharath, D Nischal; U-16: Kishan Bedare, Likith Bannur; U-14: Shubhang Hegde, BP Devdutt.

Women and girls: C Prathyusha and Rhea Sanjana (U-16), Pooja Panchal Gayakwad and Rameshwari S Gayakwad (U-19), Karuna Jain and Rajeshwari (Senior women's, one-dayers), Vanitha VR and Rajeshwari S Gayakwad (Senior women's, T20s)