Follow UsThe Maharaja Trophy, one of the biggest feeder factories for local talent in the Indian Premier League, will kick off its new season on August 11 (Sunday) at the Srikantadatta Narasimha Raja Wadeyar Ground in Mysuru.
This was because of last-minute changes as the M Chinnaswamy Stadium, the designated venue for the tournament, was termed unfit to host crowds of more than 30,000 by an enquiry commission after the deadly stampede in June this year.
Moving on, the trophy will feature some of the biggest names. While a lot of them have previously been part of the Indian Premier League (IPL) franchise from the state-Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB), currently, two of them, who are part of the Maharaja Trophy 2025, were also part of the RCB in IPL 2025.
Padikkal, who will be representing the Hubli Tigers in the Maharaja Trophy 2025, was the most expensive player in the auction of the tournament held in July this year. He fetched INR 13.2 Lakhs after a brilliant showing in the IPL 2025, where he got injured and was ruled out mid-season.
But before being ruled out, Padikkal scored 247 runs at an average of 27 and a strike rate of 150.
Funnily enough, Mayank Agarwal replaced Devdutt Padikkal in IPL 2025, playing four games, including the final. His best score was an unbeaten 41 against Lucknow Super Giants (LSG). Agarwal even scored an important 24 in the final in Ahmedabad. Agarwal will be plying his trade for Bengaluru Blasters, where he will be leading the side.
Apart from these two, Manoj Bhandage, who was a breakout star of the 2024 Maharaja T20 Trophy, was also part of the RCB unit of IPL 2025. However, he is not playing in the Maharaja T20 Trophy 2025, after he endured a rough injury before the tournament.