MUMBAI: Newly-appointed Puneri Paltan head coach has seemingly taken full control of team building-a clear indication of it came on the Day 2 of Players’ Auction for the Season 7 of Pro Kabaddi League as the Kotak-owned team spent Rs 3.95 crore of the total kitty of Rs 4.4 crore in getting 13 players from the auction.
Manjeet, a Category B player who last season played for Patna Pirates was a clear Anup Kumar choice as the former India captain acted on to share the added responsibility that came with the new avatar as coach.
“Coaching is a different challenge and a very big responsibility,” said Anup Kumar after the first round of auction on Tuesday. He, however, refused to accept that Puneri Paltan team looked weak with the kind of buys saying, “Everything gets settled with time. We have to practice hard and prepare for the league which starts in three months.”
Manjeet was clear talk of the day here with Puneri Paltan spending Rs 63 lakh to get him. He is no Manjeet Chillar, but the Patna Pirates raider seemed to have impressed Anup Kumar given that the World Cup winning captain has a good eye in spotting talent.
PALTAN SAVES 45 LAKH
For the 13 players Puneri Paltan bid for over the two days, the team has utilised Rs 3.95 crore saving Rs 45 lakh, which should come in handy while preparing the full squad.
Anup Kumar, insisted that he wanted to stay connected with the sport after retiring as a player because he wanted to give back to the sport which made him what he is today.
“I am extremely happy to be a part of Puneri Paltan as the team CEO Kailash Khandpal is very supportive, understands sports and respects a sportsman,” said Anup Kumar.
INTENSE ACTION OFF MAT
The PKL 2019 player auction saw intense action off the mat. Twelve teams fought hard to rope in the best of players and build a formidable squad ahead of the new season. The Season 7 of the PKL is scheduled to start on July 19 and will end on October 9.
Raider Siddharth Desai was the top buy going for Rs 1.45 Crore and Nitin Tomar sold for Rs 1.20 Crore on the first day. While Manjeet hogged limelight on Day 2, K Prapanjan joining the Bengal Warriors for Rs 55.5 lakh was among the top gainers on Tuesday.
There were some smart overseas picks made by Bengal Warriors and Patna Pirates, the likes of Tamil Thalaivas and U Mumba invested heavily on Indian players.
FACT-FILE: PKL PLAYERS’ AUCTION SEASON 7
- Twelve teams spend Rs 50 crore of 52 crore available fund
- In total, 200 players sold; 173 domestic and 27 internationals
- ‘Final Bid Match’ card used 15 times
- Puneri Paltan puts Rs 63 lakh to grab Manjeet, who becomes costliest raider from Category B list.
- Bengaluru Bulls buys Mahinder Singh for Rs 80 lakh to make him highest paid defender from Category B.
PUNERI PALTAN SQUAD (AFTER AUCTION)
Nitin Tomar (Rs. 1.20 crore), Manjeet (Rs. 63 lakh), Surjeet Singh (Rs. 56 lakh), Girish Maruti Ernak (Rs. 33 lakh), Darshan Kadian (Rs 20 lakh), Pawan Kumar (Rs. 20 lakh), Satpal (Rs. 20 lakh), Amit Kumar (Rs. 12 lakh), Emad Sedaghat (Rs. 11.25 lakh), Shahaji Jadhav (Rs. 10.25 lakh), Hadi Tijak (Rs. 10 lakh), Deepak Yadav (Rs. 10 lakh), Sagar B Krishna (Rs. 10 lakh).
