Pune franchise appointed CSK star batter Ruturaj Gaikwad as captain to lead the team in the 2023 edition of the Maharashtra Premier League. Maharashtra Premier League 2023 (MPL) received a massive INR 57.80 crore for six franchises.
Gaikwad Named as Captain of Pune franchise in MPL 2023
The six-team tournament will kick off on June 15 and all matches will be played at Maharashtra Cricket Association Ground located outskirts of Pune. According to a statement released by MCA, the tournament will follow the IPL module and will also broadcast live matches on DD Sports and online platforms.
MCA president Rohit Pawar revealed that the state received bids from over 20 entities in the franchise auction. He also added that the management was expecting Rs 18 crore from the sale of six teams but received more than thrice the expected valuation.
“We had kept a base price of Rs 1 crore per year for three years for the six teams expecting a minimum value of Rs 18 crore for the MPL. But we in turn received a record franchise fee of a whopping Rs 57.80 crore for six teams for three years after the teams were auctioned today. We followed a completely transparent process to buy the ownership through an open bid system”, Rohit Pawar said.
Supported by the Maharashtra Cricket Association (MCA), the Pune franchise achieved a remarkable feat in the franchise auction by securing an impressive amount of Rs 14.80 crore. This significant contribution adds to the overall staggering sum of Rs 57.80 crore received by the Maharashtra Premier League (MPL) for all six participating franchises.
Pune-based Pravin Masalewale won the bid for the Pune franchise and signed Chennai Super Kings’ star batter Ruturaj Gaikwad as its icon player.
The veteran batting all-rounder Kedar Jadhav will represent the Kolhapur franchise, which was bought by Punit Balan Group for Rs 11 crore. Nashik, Sambhajinagar, Ratnagiri, and Solapur are the remaining four franchises that will feature in the first three editions of the tournament.
Ruturaj Gaikwad was one of the three reserve players for India in the WTC 2023 final against Australia. But prior to the tournament, he has been replaced by youngster Yashasvi Jaiswal after Gaikwad informed the cricket board that he will be getting married on June 3-4.
