Pro Kabaddi League 2024 Auction: Retained players, Budget - All you need to know

As Pro Kabaddi League Season 11 approaches, anticipation is building for the player auction set for August 15 and 16 in Mumbai.

With all 12 franchises, including the defending champions Puneri Paltan, preparing to make their moves, here's a lowdown of what to expect during the auction and how the process works.

Player Pool Overview

The upcoming auction will feature a diverse pool of over 500 players, including Raiders, Defenders, and All-rounders.

This pool consists of players released by teams after Season 10 as well as other domestic talents. Additionally, the auction will see overseas players and 24 participants from the Khelo India University Games 2024 among the contenders.   

Team Composition and Budget 

Teams in Pro Kabaddi Season 11 will have squads ranging from 18 to 25 players. With 88 players already retained, there are 212 spots up for grabs. Each team has a player budget of INR 5 crore, although this amount can fluctuate based on the number and status of retained players.

Player Categories and Base Prices

Players in the auction are divided into four categories, each with a set base price:

Category A: INR 30 lakh

Category B: INR 20 lakh

Category C: INR 13 lakh

Category D: INR 9 lakh

These categories encompass various roles, including Raiders, Defenders, and All-rounders, allowing teams to target their specific needs.

Overseas Player Rules

Each Pro Kabaddi team are allowed to include between two and four overseas players in their squad.

Retained Players and Categories

Before the auction, each team could retain up to six players, divided into different categories:

Elite Retained Players (ERP): Teams could keep up to three top-performing players to avoid losing them to other franchises.

Existing New Young Players (ENYP) and Retained Young Players (RYP): Teams retained a total of 66 players from these categories, consisting of promising young talents from previous seasons.

A total of 88 players have been retained this season across three categories: ERP, RYP, and ENYP. The ENYP category is a new addition for Season 11.

Defending champions Puneri Paltan lead the pack with the highest number of retained players, holding on to 12 from last season. Tamil Thalaivas are right behind with 11 retained players, while the runner-up of the last season, Haryana Steelers have kept 9.

In contrast, the Jaipur Pink Panthers and Gujarat Giants, both two-time PKL champions, have the fewest retained players, each maintaining just 5 from their previous rosters.

Retained players and Purse left with each team

Final Bid Match (FBM) Card

The Final Bid Match (FBM) card system allows teams to buy back their released players by matching the final bid price.

Teams are allowed up to three FBM cards, but this number depends on how many players were retained. A team retaining a maximum of six players can use the FBM card only once, whereas the number of FBM cards increases if fewer players are retained.

Players to watch out for

Keep an eye on these standout players during the Pro Kabaddi League auction: Pardeep Narwal and Pawan Sehrawat, top raiders from India; Fazel Atrachali and Mohammadreza Shadloui Chiyaneh, elite defenders from Iran; Zheng-Wei Chen, a dynamic raider from Taiwan; and Daniel Odhiambo, an all-rounder from Kenya.

Where to watch the live auction of PKL 2024?

Star Sports Network will broadcast the Pro Kabaddi League 2024 auction live in India, while Disney+ Hotstar will stream it live.