Karnataka Premier League 2019: 3 teams which could lift the trophy

Karnataka Premier League 2019 is set to start from August 16th this year and the tournament will take place for two weeks, with the grand finale slated to be contested in Mysuru on September 1st.

The first game of this season will take place at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium where defending champions Bijapur Bulls will lock horns with previous season's runner-up Bengaluru Blasters, in what will be a repeat fixture of last season's final.

The player auctions for this season of the Karnataka Premier League was held in Bengaluru and amidst concerns regarding the availability of popular Karnataka stars such as Manish Pandey, Shreyas Gopal, Karun Nair, and K Gowtham, the focus was shifted on young and proven domestic performers in the auctions.

At the end of the auction, T20 specialists such as Pavan Deshpande and Aniruddha Joshi earned big bids from the auctions while surprisingly, Shreyas Gopal and Karun Nair went unsold. As we build up to KPL 2019, here are three teams which could win the trophy.

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#3 Hubli Tigers

Vinay Kumar will be leading the Hubli Tigers

Although primarily a pace bowler, Vinay Kumar has surprised many with his batting performances in the Karnataka Premier League. He has often promoted himself up the order in the previous editions and has displayed his big-hitting abilities, owing to which he was retained ahead of the auctions.

Praveen Dubey is another player who was retained by the Hubli Tigers squad before the auctions. He is a wily leg spinner who has foxed the batsmen on many occasions in the past with his googlies. He has good a partner in Shivil Koushik who was once famous for his unorthodox action.

KB Pawan and Shishir Bhavane are the experienced players who have been added to the batting line-up and they will be suitably supported by the likes of star openers Mohammad Taha and Vishwanath M while all-round David Mathias will add an extra dimension to the squad.

This team has all its bases covered and most importantly, there is the right mix of youth and experience which makes the Tigers a difficult team to beat.

#2 Bengaluru Blasters

Rohan Kadam could prove to be the trump card for the Bengaluru Blasters

Although this franchise topped the points table after the league stage last season, they faltered in the finals. However, this season, the Bengaluru Blasters have a good chance of going all the way in the tournament.

Karnataka's best bowler in the 2018 Syed Mushtaq Ali trophy, V Koushik, was retained by Bengaluru Blasters ahead of the auctions. He is one of the best T20 bowlers in the state and will lead the bowling unit of this team.

Bengaluru Blasters possess one of the best batting line-ups in the tournament. While Rohan Kadam would provide stability at the top, 32-year-old Rongsen Jonathon is an experienced option in the middle-order. Sharath BR will don the wicket-keeping duties while there are also handy all-rounders like Manoj Bhandage and Bharath Duri in the squad.

Overall, this team looks all set to go one step further from last season.

#1 Mysuru Warriors

Anirudh Joshi will play for Mysuru Warriors this season

Mysuru Warriors' squad looks extremely solid on paper. They retained J Suchith and Vyshak Vijaykumar ahead of the auctions and although both these players' primary responsibility would be with the ball, they could prove to be game-changers.

Mysore Warriors' costliest acquisition in the auctions, Aniruddha Joshi will be the trump card of this squad. Joshi is a clean hitter of the ball and an efficient right-arm off-spinner. He is consistent and is experienced which will hold him in good stead.

The batting looks solid with the likes of Amit Verma, Dega Nischal and KV Siddarth all set to play for Mysuru this season. All these 3 players have played for Karnataka and offer great stability in the batting line-up. The likes of Shoaib Manager and M Venkatesh have done well in the previous editions and offer flexibility to the captain.

Overall, this squad has all the right ingredients to make it big in this edition.