Leander Peas puts his bet on youngsters for his Mumbai Leon Army

Leander Peas puts his bet on youngsters for his Mumbai Leon Army

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Co-owner of Mumbai Leon Army has put all his bet on young tennis players ahead of the next season of the Tennis Premier League by roping in Niki Poonacha and Aryan Goveas. Saketh Myneni went to Delhi Binny’s Brigade while Purav Raja was bought by Pune Warriors for an identical prize of 2.25 lakhs.

Along with coach Sukhwant Basra, Paes has decided to go into the Tennis Premier League with notable youngsters Niki Poonacha and Aryan Goveas, both of whom were finalists in the Nationals. Interestingly, it was Poonacha who defeated teen Goveas last week in Delhi to be eventually crowned as the national champion. 

While Poonacha came for the price of Rs. 2.25 lakhs, Goveas was sold for Rs. 1.25 lakh, at the auction which was held at Meluha The Fern, Powai. Others fetching high prices were Somdev Devvarman going to Gujarat Panthers, Vishnu Vardhan being sold to Bengaluru Hawks, and Jeevan Neduncherhiyan getting roped in by Punjab Bulls, all for 2.25 lakhs.

In the women’s category, India’s highest-ranked Ankita Raina left for Delhi Binny's Brigade, Pranjala Yedlapalli went to Punjab Bulls, Mahak Jain going Gujarat Panthers, and Rutuja Bhosale being bought by Pune Warriors. They all fetched a price of Rs 1.5 lakh each at the auction. 

It was an extremely encouraging response for girls U-18 and the boy's U-14 categories. The eight teams in the tournament would be having eight players, who would be competing in the second edition, which has been scheduled to be held from December 12-15, 2019. 

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