Chennai, 26 th February 2024: Business stalwarts Rajdipkumar Gupta, Sandipkumar Gupta, and actor Suriya Sivakumar, promoters of Chennai Singams bought 16 players, including star player Sumeet Dhekale aka ‘Bahubali’ for the inaugural edition of ISPL. The Chennai-based franchise is among the six teams competing in the street-to- stadium league’s premiere edition from 6th to 15th March 2024 in Mumbai.
The Chennai Singams team, with a purse of ₹1 Crore, bought 16 players for a cumulative amount of ₹96.4 Lakhs, making the team the highest bidder at the auction. Representing Chennai Singams were co-owners, Rajdipkumar Gupta, and the core team consisting Rahul Pandey, Ashish Jaiswal and Sandeep Jaiswal.
Entrepreneur Rajdip Gupta, Co-owner, Chennai Singams said, “Our team strength is our players. We are elated to have bought some of the best players in the lot. The scouting camp that we hosted was very fruitful. Can’t wait for the Chennai Singams team to take to the field.”
Actor Suriya Sivakumar, Co-Owner, Chennai Singams said, “Witnessing the dedication, skill and talent on display, namely Sumeet Dhekale, Ketan Mhatre, R. Thavith Kumar, Venkatachalapathi Vignesh among others, I am confident that Chennai Singams will cross a milestone in the upcoming inaugural edition of the Indian Street Premier League. Our team is marked by passion, determination, and a relentless pursuit of excellence. Experience and raw talent are hard to resist! Chennai Singams is more than just a team; cricket is more than just a game for us. It’s an emotion! Like all cricket lovers, I also eagerly await the game of our players in the ISPL matches. Sports and sportsmanship are a forever inspiration! Let us roar together, Chennai Singams!”
A team formed with players from different corners of the country, Chennai Singams, bought Sumeet Dhekale for ₹19 Lakhs who is one of the most expensive players followed by Ketan Mhatre for ₹16.5, Farman Khan for ₹10.5 Lakhs, Dilip Binjwa for 9 Lakhs, Sanjay Kanojjiya for ₹7 Lakhs, Sagar Ali for ₹4.4 Lakhs, Harish Parmar for ₹3 Lakhs, Vedant Mayekar for ₹3 Lakhs, Pankaj Patel for ₹3 Lakhs, Farhat Ahmad for ₹3 Lakhs, R. Thavith Kumar for ₹3 Lakhs, Venkatachalapathi Vignesh for ₹3 Lakhs, Aniket Sanap for ₹3 Lakhs, Bablu Patil for ₹3 Lakhs, Rajdeep Jadeja for ₹3 Lakhs and Vishwanath Jadhav for ₹3 Lakhs.
The strength of Chennai Singams comes together with 6 players from the West zone, and two each from the East, North, South, Central and under 19 categories.
Zone Wise Break – Up
East Zone
Sagar Ali – Left Handed– Batsman
Sanjay Kanojjiya – Left Handed – Batsman – Right Arm spinner
North Zone
Farman Khan – Right-Handed – Bowler – Right Arm Fast
Farhat Ahmad – Right-Handed – Bowler – Right Arm Fast
South Zone
R. Thavith Kumar – All rounder– Left-Handed – Left Arm Fast
Venkatachalapathi Vignesh – All rounder– Right-Handed – Right Arm Medium
Central Zone
Dilip Binjwa – All rounder– Left-Handed – Left Arm Medium
Pankaj Patel – Bowler – Right Handed – Left Arm Fast
West Zone
Sumeet Dhekale – Batsman – Left Handed
Bablu Patil – All rounder
Ketan Mhatre – Batsman – Right Handed – Right Arm Fast
Aniket Sanap – Bowler – Left Handed – Left Arm Spinner
Rajdeep Jadeja – Bowler – Right Handed – Right Arm Spinner
Vishwanath Jadhav – All rounder– Right Handed – Right Arm Fast
In the under 19 category, Vedant Mayekar (18-year-old) and Harish Parmar (19-year- old), both from west zone were added to the Chennai Singams squad.
Vedant Mayekar – Right Handed – All rounder – Right Arm Fast
Harish Parmar – Right Handed – All rounder – Right Arm Fast
The six teams who are part of ISPL – are Mumbai, Kolkata, Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Srinagar and Chennai.
