The auction for the sixth edition of the Pro Kabaddi League (PKL) went underway on Wednesday. A total of 422 players were in line to go under the hammer during the two-day-auction.
Well, there was also another exciting element to this year’s auction. But, the auction saw 87 young players from the Future Kabaddi Heroes programme — an initiative of the Amateur Kabaddi Federation of India and PKL wherein several youngsters from cities and villages going under the hammer.
So much so, 87 players were shortlisted after more than 3,000 players were screened at the selections spread across 18 cities.
Chris Cowdrey – the man with the hammer in the hand is in the house! Are you ready for the second session of the #VivoProKabaddiAuction? Keep watching this space for more. pic.twitter.com/2g7ioc6UoN
— ProKabaddi (@ProKabaddi) May 30, 2018
But, unfortunately, not all the 87 players managed to get contracts. The 12 teams secured the services of a total of 17 players. Each franchise can buy anywhere between 18 and 25 players in the auction, with 18 being the bare minimum. The 12 teams have INR 4 crore each to form their teams.
Meanwhile, the young players were auctioned with a fixed base price of ₹6.6 lakh rupees. The youngsters are set to add more excitement and flair to the team composition.
In addition, U Mumba, Gujarat Fortune Giants, and Telugu Titans bought three players each. UP Yoddha bought two while Bengal Warriors, Dabang Delhi, Puneri Paltan, Tamil Thalaivas, Haryana Steelers and Jaipur Pink Panthers bought one player each.
Also, here is the full list of the sold ‘New Young Players’ from the first round of Day 1 of the two-day auction of Pro Kabaddi League.
Bengaluru Bulls – None.
Bengal Warriors – Mithun Kumar.
Dabang Delhi – Naveen Kumar.
Puneri Paltan – Amit Kumar.
U Mumba – Ananth Kumar, Mohit Balyan, Gaurav Kumar.
Tamil Thalaivas – Rajnish.
Haryana Steelers – Arun Kumar HN.
Telugu Titans – Kamal Singh, Ankit Beniwal, Anand.
Jaipur Pink Panthers – Lokesh Kaushik.
Gujarat Fortunegiants – Lalit Chaudhary, Vikram Kandola, Anil.
Patna Pirates – None.
UP Yoddha – Azad Singh, Akram Shaikh.