Mumbai, Aug 15 (PTI) A total of eight players, including seven Indians, got bids in excess of Rs 1 crore in the auction for the 11th season of Pro Kabaddi League here on Thursday, with raider Sachin Tanwar and Iran’s Mohammadreza Shadloui Chiyaneh emerging as the costliest amid intense bidding wars.
Sachin became the costliest Indian player on the first day of the auction in Category A as he was roped in by Tamil Thalaivas for Rs 2.15 crore, while all-rounder Shadloui was bought by Haryana Steelers for Rs 2.07 crore.
“I had imagined I would get around Rs 1.70-1.80 crore. I was nervous before the auction… this night will always be memorable for me,” Sachin told PTI.
“The auction used to deal in lakhs (price money), now it is dealing in crores which is a huge thing for the sport and the youngsters. Kabaddi has arrived at such a level,” he added.
Indian star Pawan Sehrawat, who remains PKL’s costliest player overall at Rs 2.605 crore in the auction last year, was retained by Telugu Titans for Rs 1.725 crore.
The teams were slow in starting to bid on Sehrawat, who had been the costliest player in the last two auctions getting a price in excess of Rs 2 crore on both occasions.
While U Mumba and Bengaluru Bulls were involved in a prolonged battle to rope him in, it was his former side Telugu Titans who swooped in to have him on board once again.
“I have been there at the top as No 1 and I have seen it doesn’t matter. This is good for me that I am at the third or the fourth position and see how it goes and if the results change. Perhaps (being No 1) was not lucky for me and what happened is good,” Sehrawat told PTI.
“It is good for the players, the sport is going global. It is good for the players and the league if it (price money) keeps increasing. The game will only grow; no other league apart from the Indian Premier League has had 11 or more seasons,” he said when asked about the hike in price money for the players.
Shadloui was the first to go under the hammer on the opening day of the auction and following an intense bidding war between teams, he was sold for Rs 2.07 crore to Haryana Steelers from a base price of Rs 30 lakhs.
U Mumba, in action since the beginning, finally added a name to their roster when Indian defender Sunil Kumar was brought for Rs 1.015 crore after another long round of bidding. He became the most expensive Indian defender for that price and overall third most expensive for all defenders in PKL history.
Gujarat Giants joined in too as they bought raider Guman Singh for Rs 1.97 crore, while another raider Maninder Singh went to Bengal Warriorz with the team exercising their Final Big Match option, roping him in for Rs 1.15 crore.
“I will try to work harder than last year,” Maninder told the media later on with the franchise admitting that they always wanted to use the FBM card for him.
Iranian defender Fazel Atrachali remained with Bengal Warriorz for Rs 50 lakh. “We needed someone to control the defence and the addition of Fazel solves that for us,” Maninder added.
In Category B, UP Yoddhas spent Rs 1.30 crore to acquire the services of all-rounder Bharat, while another raider Ajinkya Pawar went for Rs 1.107 crore to Bengaluru Bulls, who also acquired services of Pardeep Narwal for Rs 70 lakh.
Jaipur Pink Panthers grabbed defender Surjeet Singh for Rs 60 lakh while Shubham Shinde went to Patna Pirates for Rs 70 lakh.
Among those who went unsold were Rohit Gulia and Visvanth V as the auction for Category C and D will be held on Friday. PTI DDV ATK
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