It is a new season in the tournament, and several teams have undergone personnel changes. The tournament has seen stiff competition in the last three years, with three different teams winning it. While it is a tough choice to choose a clear contender for the title at this stage, let us look at how the teams have fared in the last three seasons.
# Mysore Warriors
They are the defending champions and have done well in the last two seasons. The side had finished runner-up in 2023 and found their moment under the sun last year, defeating the Bengaluru Blasters in the final. Karun Nair stays on as the skipper for the season and shall look to start from where they left off last year. They have a strong group of players and expect good performances from Manish Pandey, Krishnappa Gowtham, Prasidh Krishna, and Karthik CA. They boast a strong batting lineup and are among the top contenders for the title.
Squad - Karun Nair, Karthik CA, Prasidh Krishna, Karthik SU, Manish Pandey, Gowtham K, Yashovardhan Parantap, Venkatesh M, Harshil Dharmani, Lankesh KS, Kumar LR, Goutham Mishra, Shikhar Shetty, Sumit Kumar, Dhanush Gowda, Kushaal M Wadhwani, Sharath Srinivas, Shamanth SM
# Bengaluru Blasters
The Blasters had a successful season, finishing at the top of the points table after the league stage and advancing to the semifinal. However, the team had a poor outing against the Mysore Warriors in the final. They have finished runner-up twice in the three seasons and will look to get their hands on the trophy. Mayank Agarwal stays as captain and shall look to lead from the front. He leads a young group of players and looks to get the best performances from Rohan Patil, Shubhang Hegde, LR Chethan, and Prateek Jain. They have several all-rounders in the team and will be one of the teams to watch out for.
Squad - Mayank Agarwal (c), Shubhang Hegde, Naveen MG, Suraj Ahuja, A Rohan Patil, Chethan LR, Mohsin Khan, Vidyadhar Patil, S Akhil, M Prakash Bajaj, Rohan Naveen, Kruthik Krishna, Advith M Shetty, Bhuvan Mohan Raju, Rohan M Raju, Niranjan Naik, Prateek Jain, Ishaan S
# Gulbarga Mystics
They won the inaugural trophy in 2022, but since then, the team hasn't been able to repeat the success. The side has lost in the semifinals in the last two seasons and shall aim for its second title this year. They are the most consistent team in the history of the tournament and shall aim for a good start. Vijaykumar Vyshak takes over as the skipper for the team this season, and he would like his team to fight hard on the field. Smaran Ravichandran, Krishnamurthy Siddharth, Praveen Dubey, and Luvnith Sisodia have done well in the past, and the team expects a good show from them.
Squad – Vijaykumar Vyshak (c), Luvnith Sisodia, Pravin Dubey, Smaran R, Siddharth KV, Monish Reddy, Harsha Wardhan Khuba, Prithviraj, Lavish Kaushal, Sheetal Kumar, Jasper EJ, Mohith BA, Faizan Raiz, Sourab M Muttur, Nikin Jose, Prajwal Pavan, Younus Ali Baig, Likhit M Bannur
# Shivamogga Lions
It was a poor season for the team in 2024, where they managed to win only once and finished fifth out of six teams. Apart from reaching the semifinal in 2023, the side hasn't had much to celebrate in the last three seasons. They have struggled with their consistency and have yet to announce the captain for this year. Aneeshwar Gautam, Vasuki Koushik, Nihal Ullal, and Dhruv Prabhakar. A good start will be key for the team as they take on stronger opponents, and it will be interesting to see if they can turn it around this year.
Squad – Nihal Ullal, V Koushik, Hardik Raj, Avinash B, Nihal Ullal, Vidwath Kaverappa, Anirudha Joshi, Aneeshwar Gautam, Dhruv Prabhakar, Sanjay C, Anand Doddamani, Sahil Sharma, Bharath Dhuri, Deepak Devadiga, Rohit Kumar K, Tushar Singh, Darshan MB, Maribasava C Gowda, Sireesh Balgaar.
# Hubli Tigers Unicorns
The Hubli Tigers reached the semifinal last season, but lost the game closely to the Mysore Warriors. They are a strong team that won the title in 2023 and will look to repeat the magic. They have strengthened the batting lineup for this season with Devdutt Padikkal joining the team. KC Cariappa, Abhinav Manohar, Ritesh Bhatkal, and Mohammed Taha are the key players in this game. They have posed a challenge to their opponents in the last few years, and the team will look to do the same this season.
Squad – KC Cariappa, Srijith KL, Karthikeya KP, Manvath Kumar L, Abhinav Manohar, Devdutt Padikkal, Mohammed Taha, Vijayaraj B, Prakhar, Chaturvedi, Sankalp SS, Samath Nagaraj, Yash Raj Punja, Ritesh L Bhatkal, Shreesha S Achar, Nathan JF D Mello, Nischith Pai
# Mangalore Dragons
They have been the weakest team in the tournament in the last three seasons. They finished at the bottom of the points table, winning only once last year. The previous two seasons saw them finish 5th out of six teams. The side has made several changes to the squad and shall look to turn its fortunes this year. Krishnappa Gowtham, Abhilash Shetty, Macneil Noronha, and Shreyas Gopal are the key players in the team, and they must maintain consistency throughout the season for the side to win.
Squad - Krishnappa Gowtham, Abhilash Shetty, Macneil Noronha, Lochan S Gowda, Paras Gurbax Arya, Sharath BR, Roni More, Shreyas Gopal, Melu Kranthi Kumar, Sachi Shinde, Aneesh KV, Thippa Reddy, Aaditya Nair, Aadarsh Prajwal, Abhishek Prabhakar, Shivaraj S, Pallav Kumar Das
