Pro Kabaddi League Auction 2018: Nitin Tomar, Rahul Chaudhary To Feature in IPL-style Final Bid Match

Not so long ago IPL followed the same style at the auction. Here teams are allowed to retain a maximum of two players by matching the final bid made by another franchise for a player.

The auctions for the biggest kabaddi league in the world takes place on May 30 and 31. A total of 422 players are set to go under the hammer and it should be exciting like-never-before! The auction pool includes 87 players from the Future Kabaddi Heroes programme and 58 overseas players from nations such as Bangladesh, Iran, Japan, Kenya, Republic of Korea, among other countries. So there is a huge assorted bunch for franchise owners to choose from. Like in IPL, we see player retention this season in PKL.

Players have been split in five categories (A, B, C, D, and New Young Players). And players in categories A, B, C, and D have been set a base price of Rs 20, 12, 8, and 5 lakh respectively. Meanwhile, the New Young Players have a fixed price of Rs 6.6 lakh. Fair, one may add! All of this goes to prove a bigger point that kabaddi is slowly but surely emerging as the second spot of the country, of course after cricket.

Here are the players who have already been retained.

Patna Pirates: Pardeep Narwal, Jaideep, Jawahar Dagar, Manish Kumar
Puneri Paltan: Sandeep Narwal, Rajesh Mondal, Gurunath More, Girish Ernak
Gujarat Fortunegiants: Sachin Kawar, Sunil Kumar, Mahendra Ganesh Rajput
Tamil Thalaivas: Ajay Thakur, Amit Hooda, C. Arun
Bengal Warriors: Surjeet Singh, Maninder Singh
Telugu Titans: Nilesh Salunke, Mohsen Maghsoudlou Jafari
Bengaluru Bulls: Rohit Kumar
Dabang Delhi: Meraj Sheykh
Haryana Steelers: Kuldeep Singh

It is clear that out of the 12 teams participating, only nine franchises have exercised the option to retain their star performers.

Click. Pick. Win.

Here’s all you need to know on how to don the team owner’s hat in VIVO #ProKabaddiFanVoice and stand a chance to win attractive prizes! https://t.co/IrQfN0YVrK pic.twitter.com/kRbfqrc9Uu

— ProKabaddi (@ProKabaddi) May 23, 2018

What’s in the purse:

Each team has been allotted a sum total of Rs 4 Cr. The squad size can vary from 18-25 players, including three from the Future Kabaddi Heroes programme and two to four overseas players (this is mandatory).

Who will be the big players going under the hammer?

Kabaddi stalwarts like Nitin Tomar, Rahul Chaudhari, Anup Kumar, Manjit Chillar are the big names that will go under the hammer. They are also expected to set the auctions on fire.

What is the ‘Final Bid Match’ Concept?

Not so long ago IPL followed the same style at the auction. Here teams are allowed to retain a maximum of two players by matching the final bid made by another franchise for a player.

Speaking ahead of the auction, PKL commissioner, Anupam Goswami said, “The player auction for Pro Kabaddi season VI will be the culmination of the player policy for the upcoming season, which has been designed for long-term association as well as even redistribution of athletic talent. It epitomises the continuing advancement in Pro Kabaddi for quality competition, along with the right balance between compensation to athletes and affordability for their employers.”