Ranchi (Jharkhand) [India], May 30 (ANI): The inaugural season of the Jharkhand T20 League under the aegis of Jharkhand State Cricket Association will conduct its first-ever player auction today with 275 cricketers up for grabs.

The six franchises that will each have an auction purse of Rs 50 lakh each are Ranchi Titans, Jamshedpur Steelers, Chota Nagpur Royals, Koylanchal Super Kings, Dhanbad Diamonds and Santhal Strikers, according to a release.

'Jharkhand has been such an integral part of Indian cricket for a long time, and the Jharkhand T20 League will only further strengthen that core and create a pipeline for notable and aspiring cricketers alike,' Ajay Nath Shah Deo, President, Jharkhand State Cricket Association, said.

'The main aim for Jharkhand State Cricket Association has always been to provide the state's cricketers the best opportunity to excel at the state, national and international level, and we are sure that the Jharkhand T20 League is a step in the right direction towards that,' he added.

Ishan Kishan, Robin Minz, Kumar Kushagra, Anukul Roy, Sushant Mishra, Utkarsh Singh and Virat Singh are amongst the key players that each team will be vying for in the upcoming Jharkhand T20 League.

The auction will be conducted by the prolific Charu Sharma, who will ably oversee each of the six franchises in their quest for the best possible squad. Each franchise will finalise a squad of 16 players minimum, and up to a maximum of 18 players.

Out of the 275 players in the auction pool, seven players have been placed in the Icon category with a base price of Rs 4 lakh.

Category A (Senior State Players) will have a base price of Rs 75k and subsequent categories will move down the order all the way to Category C2 for franchises to bid from.

The auction will be telecast live on DD Sports and streamed on Waves as each franchise works towards building a squad that will help them get their hands on the inaugural Jharkhand T20 League trophy. (ANI)