Mumbai, March 27 (IANS) RP-SG Mavericks surprisingly decided against continuing with veteran Sharath Kamal, while defending champions Falcons TTC and Dabang Smashers have retained Sanil Shetty and G. Sathiyan ahead of the Player Draft on Wednesday for the second season of the CEAT Ultimate Table Tennis (UTT).

Eight-time national champion Sharath, 35, will go to the Player Draft pool to see which side picks him on Wednesday at the National Sports Club of India (NSCI), according to a release.

Having opted for player retention, Falcons TTC and Dabang Smashers T.T.C will be able to opt for their first player during the Player Draft after the other teams have made their choices in the first round.

Sharath along with other top Indian stars Amalraj Anthony, Harmeet Desai, Manika Batra, Madhurika Patkar will be lending star value to the draft picks with their presence.

All franchises have been given enough time to plan their strategy for the draft pick, having roped in their Indian and foreign coaches via the coach draft held earlier this month.

The Indian coaches A. Muralidhara Rao (Challengers), R Rajesh (Yoddhas), Sachin Shetty (Dabang Smashers T.T.C), Arup Basak (RP-SG Mavericks), N Ravichandran (Maharashtra United) will be playing a key role on Wednesday in making smart choices for their respective teams.

The Players Draft is another big step in the conduct of CEAT UTT Season 2, which will be heading to new venues with a new format this season from June 14 to July 1.

–IANS
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