KPL 2016: Know your team – Belagavi Panthers

Belagavi Panthers, who topped the points table in the fourth edition of the Karnataka Premier League (KPL) will look to go all the way this time and win the coveted trophy, as season five of the tournament kick starts amid wide fan-fare, at Hubbali’s KSCA Stadium at Rajnagar on Saturday.

Led by Indian seam bowler and Karnataka skipper Vinay Kumar, the team boasts of an exciting mix of belligerent batsmen, parsimonious bowlers and valuable all-rounders.

In the KPL auction held last month, the Panthers retained captain Vinay Kumar, who has been one of the driving forces behind the team’s success, in the previous editions of the tournament.

Panthers’ lynchpin in the batting department, and the player with the highest individual score (103) in last year’s edition, Mayank Agarwal will stay with Belagavi this year as well. Sharath HS and Praveen Dubey are the other two players retained at this year’s KPL auction.

Praveen, who represents Karnataka juniors at the domestic level, is a leg-spinning all-rounder and made his list A debut against Gujarat in the 2015 Vijay Hazare Trophy. His impressive performances with the Belagavi Panthers, helped him land a contract with IPL team Royal Challengers Bangalore, in the IPL 2016 auction. The Panthers would expect Dubey to summon every ounce of his prowess to bamboozle opposition batsmen on the twenty-two yards.

India A fast bowler HS Sharath, yet another thrilling talent, will bolster Panthers’ bowling attack in KPL-5. In another valuable addition to the squad, the Belagavi Panthers lapped up 26-year-old batsman, Mir Kaunain Abbas for a whopping Rs 2,55,000. Abbas, who sported the Namma Shivamogga greens in the previous seasons, is an able batsman and his inclusion should hold the Panthers in good stead this year.

The Belagavi Panthers came close to winning the league in 2014 but were narrowly beaten by Mysuru Warriors, in what turned out to be a thrilling KPL finale. However, two years is a long time in cricket and a rejuvenated and revamped unit would want to go that extra mile to win their maiden KPL trophy.

Team

Vinay Kumar RMayank AgarwalSharath H SPraveen DubeyLikhit BannurSatish BharadwajShoiab Manager Abdul Majid Mir Kaunan AbbasAnurag BajpaiPradeep TSunil Kumar JainRam Sharik YadavC K AkshayAbhishek SakujaDarshan PatilRajvardhan ReddySwapnil YelaveRahul NaikIshfaq Nazir Bhat

Owners – AR Nagesh, MD Subhas Enterprises

Support StaffT Nasiruddin - Chief CoachMukund G - Asst.CoachKiran - TrainerSriranga - PhysioNandisha - AnalystArun G - AnalystAtanu Ghosh - MasseurSrikanth - LogisticsMohan Babu - LogisticsYogesh - LogisticsYere Goud - MentorJoe Hoover - CEOAnil - Support StaffMadhu - Support StaffKrishn - Support StaffYogesh - Support StaffRaghunath - Support StaffRamesh Babu - Support StaffGururaj - Support StaffRamesh - Support Staff

All matches of the KPL 2016 will be telecast live and exclusive on Sony ESPN and Sony ESPN HD Channels.