Pune: Anup Kumar, Manjeet Chhillar and Rahul Chaudhari are now the top kabaddi players known across the country following their exploits in the Pro Kabaddi League, which was launched in 2014.
The trio became poster boys of PKL and their heroics helped the game rise to new heights. Four years later, after the culmination five successful seasons, sports fans not only know the names of the three but also a number of other talented players who have earned their names thanks to PKL. Now all these players will go under the hammer for the Season 6 during the Players’ Auction, which will take place on Wednesday and Thursday in Mumbai.
A total of 422 players will be up for the grabs and all the eyes will be on 12 franchisee owners, especially those who spend high purse to pick up the best player.
It will be interesting to see whether owners will go for the experienced players or will they count on youth, during the two days of auction.
To name a few young players, Monu Goyat, Parvesh Bhainswal and K Prapanjan have impressed all and teams who will be keen to get them under their brand to form the best possible team for the upcoming season.
“Nervousness is always there before the auctions. It is always unpredictable, I am hoping for the best. Whichever franchisee selects me I will give my best shot for them,” said Rishank Devadiga who has played with U Mumba and UP Yoddha in previous seasons.
Owners of Bengaluru Bulls are highly optimistic about the auction and they are looking to make a team which can earn them good results in future seasons as well.
“We are hoping to get a team which we can build and nurture over the next few years. With Rohit Kumar, we have also retained three young players who had shown impressive performance in Season 5. The auction will allow us a chance to work on covering our weaknesses from last season and put together a strong combination,” said Uday Sinh Wala owner of Bengaluru Bulls.
Patna Pirates, who completed the hat-trick of titles, is all geared up for Season 6 auction and they are looking to make a team which will make a good combination with the retained players.
“We are all geared up for the auctions with the focus to build a champion team, we look forward to putting together the right mix of talent with a sole aim to retain the trophy yet again,” said spokesperson of Patna Pirates team.
Purse of Rs. 4 crore
- Each team has a purse of Rs 4 core to spend.
- The amount which franchises have already spent on retained players, existing new young players and New Young Players drafted at auction will be deducted from Rs Four crore.
Players’ performance
- During the auction, players will be judged according to their performance in previous seasons. Players who have performed nicely during Season 5 will get preference.
- Rs 20 lakh is the base price for players which are in Category A while Rs 12 lakh, Rs 8 lakh and Rs 5 lakh is the base price for players who fall in Category B, C and D respectively.
- The players who will be selected from ‘New Young Players Category’ will get fix salary of Rs 6.6 lakh.
