Bhubaneshwar, Nov 22 (PTI) Six franchises picked up 145 players from a pool of 290 exponents during the Ultimate Kho Kho (UKK) Season 2 draft, held here on Wednesday.

On a day when the franchises spent Rs 3.9 crore, 18 players were retained, while 33 youngsters between 16 and 18 years of age were also picked.

Mumbai Khiladis picked 16-year-old Sunil Patra from Odisha, while 17-year-olds M Mugilan of Puducherry and Maharashtra's Ganesh Borkar were drafted by Chennai Quick Guns and Rajasthan Warriors respectively.

Maharashtra's Mahesh Shinde became the first pick of the draft for the second successive season. The 28-year-old defender was drafted by Mumbai Khiladis, which also retained Gajanan Shengal and Sreejesh S after their impressive performances in the inaugural edition.

Vijay Hajare, Adhithya Ganpule and Laxman Gawas were the other star players to be picked by Rajasthan Warriors, Telugu Yoddhas and Chennai Quick Guns, respectively.

Gujarat Giants and Rajasthan Warriors drafted 25 and 22 players respectively to complete their squads, while defending champions Odisha Juggernauts too ensured a good balance of youth and experience.

'Ultimate Kho Kho will be driving young Indian fans in Season 2. What makes it special is that 33 players in Season 2 will be between 16 and 18 years of age. With an average age of 22.5 years, Season 2 is poised to be faster, stronger and bolder,' UKK CEO and League Commissioner Tenzing Niyogi said in a statement. PTI SSC AM SSC AM AM