BHUBANESHWAR: The six Ultimate Kho Kho (UKK) franchisees gear up for Season 2 Player Draft in Bhubaneswar on November 21. The inaugural season ignited a sporting frenzy, thrusting it to claim the title of India’s third-largest non-cricketing league in audience outreach.

Armed with Rs 3.90 Crore in the purse, the six franchisees will battle it out to secure a formidable lineup from the 275 players available in the pool. The draft promises a fierce battleground, with Maharashtra dominating the forefront with 18 players, that emerged triumphant in the recently concluded National Games held in Goa.

With a minimum of 20 and a maximum of 35 players, each franchise will have 35 draft rounds to complete their team combinations for the second edition. While 18 players have been retained by the teams; the remaining players have been put under four categories, A, B, C and D. CategoU\ $ SOD\HUV DUH SULFHG DW ODF &DWHJRU\ % ZLOO JHW ODF each and C and D are categoULVHG DW ODF DQG ODF UHspectively. Franchisees will have the option to select players based on their respective draft sequence and purse capacity.

In all, 293 players are in the pool have been divided into three segments. The 18 players retained by the franchisees fall in the ‘Power Players’ category. Players who were part of Season 1 but have not been retained are known as ‘Pole Players’. While the new set of players recommended either by the franchisees or the Kho Kho Federation of India will be called ‘Dream Players’.

Defending champion Odisha Juggernauts has retained four players from the last season, while Chennai Quick Guns three, including Player of the Tournament Ramji Kashyap and Young Player of the Tournament Madan.