CCPL Season 2 begins in Hyderabad tomorrow

The Centre Court Pickleball League (CCPL) will begin its second Hyderabad season on October 18, with eight franchises competing across seven league match days before the playoffs on December 5 and the championship final on December 12.

The opening day will be hosted by Chargers at Centre Court Pickleball Arena, The League, Financial District, with matches played on two courts. Defending champions Mavericks will face Titans at 4 pm on Centre Court, while Dasos Dynamos take on The Raptors on the second court. At 8 pm, Chargers will meet Starry Smashers, alongside All Stars’ clash against Keerthi Warriors.

Mavericks will be captained by Sreekar Mothukuri, while Sameer Varma leads All Stars and Nikhil Tummalapalli captains Titans. Nikit M Reddy will lead Chargers, Karunesh Reddy The Raptors, Vivek Reddy Priyadarshini Dasos Dynamos, Abhaya Vemuri Starry Smashers and Gopinath Reddy Keerthi Warriors.

More than 200 players registered for Season 2, with 73 acquired at auction and seven signed beforehand, completing an 80-player pool comprising 53 men and 27 women. Franchise purses doubled from ₹5 lakh to ₹10 lakh, while teams could sign one pre-auction player for ₹3 lakh.

CCPL co-founder Vikrant Rao said the increased purse gave franchises greater flexibility in squad building, with teams investing in both established players and emerging talent.

The league has also attracted prominent names to its ownership groups. Olympic bronze medallist Saina Nehwal joined Keerthi Warriors as co-owner, while former badminton world No. 1 Kidambi Srikanth joined Nandi Chargers as an investor and partner. Actor Sushanth Anumolu owns All Stars, while filmmaker-actor Tharun Bhascker Dhaassyam joined The Raptors as co-owner.

Co-founder Yashwanth Biyyala said the league aims to enhance the match-day experience through competition, music and food.

League matches are scheduled for October 24 and 31, and November 7, 14, 21 and 28. The top two teams will contest Qualifier 1 on December 5, while the third- and fourth-placed teams meet in the Eliminator. Qualifier 2 follows that evening, with the final scheduled for December 12 at 8 pm.

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