Pro Kabaddi League has slowly and steadily established itself as one of the most popular sports leagues in the country after Indian Premier League.
The first day of the Pro Kabaddi 2018 auction at Mumbai’s Hotel Renaissance attracted some fierce bidding from the franchise owners, who didn’t mind breaking the bank to bag young as well as experienced kabaddi players in their side to form a formidable team.
Have a look at the costliest buys that took place at the PKL 2018 auction.
1. Monu Goyat – Rs 1.51 crore
The former Patna Pirates raider Monu Goyat shattered all records to become the highest paid kabaddi player in the Pro Kabaddi League. Haryana Steelers picked up the local boy for a whopping price of Rs 1.51 crore, a mark breached for the first time in the history of the competition.
Goyat’s price went from a mere Rs 20 lakh to Rs 1.1 crore with just seven bids and as Chris Cowdrey’s hand went up with the hammer at Rs 1.5 crore raised by Delhi, Steelers returned with a record and a final bid of Rs 1.51 crore. With 250 raid points from 39 matches and a key role in the Senior Federation Cup Kabaddi tournament this year, Monu hopes to have a record-breaking season with the Steelers.
2. Rahul Chaudhari – Rs 1.29 crore
The poster boy of PKL from the opening season lived up to his reputation as he attracted the second highest bid, a wholesome of Rs. 1.29 crore, on day one of the auction. One of the best raiders among the prevailing contenders, Rahul will be back with The Telugu Titans for the upcoming season after they used the ‘Final Bid Match’ card to match the bid of Dabang Delhi.
With 666 raid points in 79 matches at an average of 8.43 points per match, the Himachal-born raider has been one of the persistent performers in the league.
3. Nitin Tomar – Rs 1.15 crore
Nitin’s fleeting rise saw him shatter all records to emerge as the costliest-ever player to be bought in the Pro Kabaddi League in the last season with an astronomical sum of Rs 93 lakh.
After warming the benches for the first two seasons of the league, the 23-year-old finally got a PKL contract in the third season with the Bengal Warriors and turned out to be a revelation with 77 raid points in his first season itself. This time as well the raider didn’t disappoint as he attracted the third highest bid of Rs. 1.15 crore picked up by the Puneri Paltan.
4. Deepak Niwas Hooda – Rs 1.15 crore
After a fierce bidding war between Delhi and Haryana, the former Puneri Paltan captain was swooped away by the Jaipur Pink Panthers making him the first Indian to breach the Rs. 1 crore mark. The recipient of the second highest bid in the inaugural season of the league was picked up for an estimate of Rs 1.15 crore equalling the record of his compatriot Nitin Tomar.
Though Hooda wasn’t retained by his franchise the all-rounder was elated after attracting such a high price and is propitious about his performance in the forthcoming season.
5. Rishank Devadiga – Rs 1.11 crore
Rishank started his career with U Mumba in the first season, who had bought him for Rs 5 lakh. Last year, newcomers UP Yoddha bagged the 25-year old for a sum of Rs. 45.50 lakh. This year, Dabang Delhi made the massive bid of Rs 1.11 crore for ‘Mr. Consistent’ Rishank Devadiga, but UP Yoddha spoilt the party of their competitors by retaining Devadiga with their ‘FBM’ card.
In the 80 matches he has played so far, the star raider from Maharashtra has collected 449 raid points at an average of 5.61. The Mumbaikar was awarded the best raider in season three and is the fifth player in the auctions to fetch Rs 1 crore this season.
6. Fazel Atrachali – Rs 1 crore
Iran’s Fazel Atrachali history as he became the first player to attract a bid of Rs 1 crore in the history of Pro Kabaddi League. The Iranian defender, picked up by his former team U Mumba, has been a part of PKL since the second season and has won the title twice.
There was an intense bidding war for the defender between U Mumba and Pink Panthers before the Mumbai outfit outbid the Jaipur side making him the most expensive foreign player of the league.
