Odisha Pro T20 League Set for Exciting Start in Cuttack
Cricket fans in Odisha, get ready for some high-octane action! The first-ever Odisha Pro T20 League (OPTL) kicks off from September 17 to 26, 2025, right at the famous Barabati Stadium in Cuttack. The Odisha Cricket Association (OCA) shared these updated dates today, building up the hype for what promises to be a thrilling tournament.
This inaugural edition features six powerhouse franchises battling it out for the top spot, with the grand finale on September 26. The teams include Cuttack Panthers, Sambalpur Warriors, Puri Titans, Bhubaneswar Tigers, Keonjhar Miners, and Rourkela Steelers. Earlier this week, OCA revealed the captains and coaches for each squad through a fun draw system.
The big player draft happened today, drawing a crowd of OCA bigwigs like President Pankaj Lochan Mohanty, Secretary Sanjay Behera, Joint Secretary Prabhat Bhol, and Treasurer Bikash Pradhan. Franchise owners and OCA members joined in, with Cuttack Panthers owner Subhashree Behera making her presence felt. As chief guest, Asirbad Behera—Secretary of the Football Association of Odisha and Chairman of the Odisha Athletic Association—added star power to the event.
Each franchise grabbed 16 players in the draft, and they can add two more before the games begin. Player fees break down like this: Marquee players earn ₹1,25,000, Category A gets ₹1,00,000, Category B ₹75,000, Category C ₹50,000, and Category D ₹40,000. It’s all set to spotlight Odisha’s rising cricket stars.
OCA Secretary Sanjay Behera couldn’t hide his excitement at the event. "The Odisha Pro T20 League is a game-changer for cricket in our state," he said. "With top talent and pro-level organization, we’re sure it’ll shine in Indian domestic cricket. Best wishes to all players and teams—bring that sportsman spirit and show off Odisha’s deep talent pool!"
To make everything run smoothly, OCA teamed up with Arivaa Sports as the exclusive partner. They’ve nailed similar franchise leagues in Bengal, Vidarbha, and Saurashtra, so expect a top-notch show.
Here’s a quick look at the franchise squads, complete with head coaches, assistants, captains, and players:
Cuttack Panthers
Head Coach: Pravanjan Mullick | Assistant Coach: Bibhudat Panda | Captain: Swastik Samal
Squad: Swastik Samal (Marquee), Biplab Samantray, Abhishek Raut, Harshit Rathod, Subham Satrujit, Tapas Kumar Das, Panakala Sasanka, Dinesh Kumar Majhi, Md Sohail Khan, Prashant Rana, Swayam Routray, Raj Yadav, Anurag Mallick, Sibun Nanda, Vagesh Sharma, Abhishek Champati.
Sambalpur Warriors
Head Coach: RR Das | Assistant Coach: Sushil Kumar Mishra | Captain: Subhranshu Senapati
Squad: Subhranshu Senapati (Marquee), Prayash Kumar Singh, Shreyansh Bharadwaj, Tarini Sa, Rakesh Pattnaik, Pravin Luha, Ayush K Barik, Vimal Kumar, Sumit Sharma, Swayam Srivastav, Manas Ranjan Patra, Hemant Kumar Rathi, Priyanshu Mohanty, Sarthak S Prakash, Aditya Rout, Rama Chandra Behera.
Puri Titans
Head Coach: Saurabh Sehgal | Assistant Coach: Deepak Mangaraj | Captain: Sandeep Pattnaik
Squad: Sandeep Pattnaik (Marquee), Rajesh Mohanty, Kartik Biswal, Ashutosh Chhuria, Anurag Sarangi, Sawan Paharia, Sushil Kumar Barik, Udaya Jata, Surya Mohapatra, Shantanu Mishra, Aditya K Jaysingh, Rudra Prasad Mallick, Piyush Ranjan Mantri, Ayush Sutar, Saransh Kumar, Md Danish.
Bhubaneswar Tigers
Head Coach: Preetamjeet Das | Assistant Coach: KV Prasad | Captain: Suryakant Pradhan
Squad: Suryakant Pradhan (Marquee), Rajesh Dhupar, Gourav Choudhry, Debabrata Pradhan, Badal Biswal, Aryashree D Bhatta, Satyakam Bharadwaj, Bivash Shaw, Sambit Kumar Beja, Subham Priyadarshi, Ansuman Bej, Prayan Prantik Samal, Abhineet K Pattnaik, Swagat S Mishra, Bikram Samal, Md Azharuddin.
Keonjhar Miners
Head Coach: Sanjay Satapathy | Assistant Coach: Shovan Deb | Captain: Govinda Poddar
Squad: Govinda Poddar (Marquee), Abhishek Yadav, Om T Munde, Sarbeswar Mohanty, Anil Parida, Sujal Singh, Sayed Tuffel Ahmed, Debabrata Pradhan Jr, Soubhagya Ojha, Abhishek Singh, Panakala Mokshit, Sreeraj Pattnaik, Biswa Baibhab Muduli, Biswa Bhusan Bihari, Soumya Ranjan Lenka, Papu Roy.
Rourkela Steelers
Head Coach: Subit Biswal | Assistant Coach: Prabhat Kumar Nayak | Captain: Aashirbad Swain
Squad: Aashirbad Swain (Marquee), Sambit S Barala, Saideep Mohapatra, Pradeep Pradhan, Jamela Mohapatra, Ashutosh Marandi, Binayak Sahoo, Shovandeb Behera, Sambit Kumar Sahoo, Milan Samal, Swoop Samit Bhuyan, Biswajit Pradhan, Priya Ranjan Muduli, Akash Mohapatra, Amin Iqbal Khan, Saswat Mohanty.
Mark your calendars, Odisha cricket lovers—this league is all set to deliver big hits, close finishes, and homegrown heroes. Stay tuned for more updates on the Odisha Pro T20 League!
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