Mohammadreza Shadloui and Sachin attract big bids at PKL Auction

The Pro Kabaddi League (PKL) Season 11 Player Auction has concluded on Friday after a 2-day action-packed event in Mumbai. Mohammadreza Chiyaneh and Sachin were the only two players who surpassed the 2-crore mark at the Auction.

Iranian all-rounder Mohammadreza Chiyaneh was the first player who went under the hammer on the opening day of the PKL 2024 auction. Gujarat Giants and U Mumba were involved in an intense bidding war before last season’s finalist Haryana Steelers acquired Chiyaneh for an amount of INR 2.07 crore.

Fazel Atrachali, the most successful defender in Pro Kabaddi history, was the next player at the auction. The former Gujarat Giants captain was wanted by Dabang Delhi K.C. and Bengal Warriorz, before the latter secured his services for INR 50 lakh.

Pawan Kumar Sehrawat, who became the most expensive player in PKL history in the last auction, was once again sought after by many teams. Teams like Bengaluru Bulls and U Mumba were in the fray before Telugu Titans used their Final Bid Match (FBM) card to bag Sehrawat for INR 1.725 crore.

Sachin later became the second most expensive Indian player in Pro Kabaddi history and the costliest on Day 1 of the auction after Tamil Thalaivas roped in the star raider for INR 2.15 crore.

The likes of Telugu Titans, UP Yoddhas, and Gujarat Giants were engaged in intense bidding before Tamil Thalaivas secured Sachin’s services. With the staggering amount, Sachin surpassed Maninder Singh on the list of the most expensive Indian players in PKL history.

Guman Singh was pursued by teams like Bengal Warriorz, Gujarat Giants, and Jaipur Pink Panthers before the Giants finally acquired the raider for INR 1.97 crore.

Among the other Category A players, Maninder Singh returned to Bengal Warriorz. The PKL Season 7 champions used their Final Bid Match (FBM) as they bought back Super Mani for INR 1.15 crore.

Young defender Krishan was bought by Telugu Titans for INR 70 lakh.

Meanwhile, Sunil Kumar became the most expensive Indian defender in PKL history after U Mumba acquired his services for INR 1.015 crore.

In the Category B player's list, all-rounder Bharat was sold to UP Yoddhas for INR 1.30 crore while defender Shubham Shinde was roped in by Patna Pirates for INR 70 lakh.

Accomplished raider Ajinkya Pawar was another attacker to surpass the 1-crore mark and was acquired by Bengaluru Bulls for INR 1.107 crore among the other category B players.

The Bulls later bagged Pardeep Narwal, the most successful raider in PKL history, for an amount of INR 70 lakh.

The opening day of the Pro Kabaddi Season 11 Player Auction concluded with raider Manjeet being sold to U Mumba for INR 80 lakh.

Most Expensive Buys

Sachin - Tamil Thalaivas (INR 2.15 crore)

Mohammadreza Chiyaneh - Haryana Steelers (INR 2.07 crore)

Guman Singh - Gujarat Giants (INR 1.97 crore)

Pawan Sehrawat - Telugu Titans (INR 1.725 crore)

Bharat - UP Yoddhas (INR 1.30 crore)

Day 2 witnessed some huge bids for Category C and D players.

V Ajith Kumar was the most expensive buy on Day 2 of the PKL 2024 auction after defending champions Puneri Paltan roped in the Indian raider for INR 66 lakh.

Jai Bhagwan was the second most expensive buy on the second day of the Pro Kabaddi Season 11 auction after Bengaluru Bulls added the young raider to their squad for INR 63 lakh.

Earlier, three-time winners Patna Pirates acquired the services of Indian all-rounder Gurdeep for INR 59 lakh and defender Deepak Rajender Singh for INR 50 lakh.

In an action-packed Day 2 of the PKL 2024 auction, Puneri Paltan retained their star all-rounder Mohammad Esmaeil Nabibakhsh for INR 13.60 lakh after exercising the Final Bid Match (FBM) card.

Gujarat Giants further bolstered their squad with defender Neeraj Kumar for INR 35 lakh.

Two-time PKL champions Jaipur Pink Panthers acquired the services of Iranian raider Amir Hossein Mohammadmaleki and defender Arpit Saroha for INR 13 lakh each.

The Pink Panthers also added the likes of Vikash Kandola (32 lakh), Shrikant Jadhav (15 lakh), Aamir Wani (INR 9 lakh) and Mayank Malik (INR 9 lakh) to their squad later in the day.

After making the most expensive purchase on Day 1 of the player auction, Tamil Thalaivas used their FBM card to retain Iranian defender Amirhossein Bastami for INR 16 lakh. His countryman and all-rounder Moein Safaghi was also purchased by the Thalaivas for INR 13 lakh.

UP Yoddhas strengthened their defense by roping in young Iranian defender Mohammadreza Kaboudrahangi for INR 25 lakh and Mahender Singh for INR 21.40 lakh.

Seasoned Indian defender Parvesh Bhainswal was sold to U Mumba for INR 19.50 lakh.

Meanwhile, South Korean raider Jang Kun Lee was snapped up by Patna Pirates for INR 17.50 lakh and he is set to return to PKL after four years.

Apart from Jang Kun Lee, the Pirates also bought Iranian defender Hamid Nader (INR 13 lakh), defender Prashant Kumar Rathi (INR 13 lakh) and retained defender Thiyagarajan Yuvaraj (INR 13.10 lakh) through the FBM card.

Among the other Category C players, Dabang Delhi K.C. roped in Bangladeshi raider Md. Mijanur Rahman (INR 13 lakh), defender Mohammad Baba Ali (INR 13.50 lakh), and right cover defender Gaurav Chhillar (INR 13 lakh), while Bengal Warriorz bought back Taiwanese raider Chai-Ming Chang for INR 13 lakh.

Having already roped in Fazel Atrachali on Day 1, Bengal Warriorz further reinforced their defense for the upcoming season by acquiring Mayur Kadam (INR 30.20 lakh), Nitesh Kumar (INR 13 lakh), and Praveen Thakur (INR 13 lakh) on the second day of the auction.

Arjun Rathi was the most expensive Category D player of the auction after Bengal Warriorz bought him for INR 41 lakh. The Warriorz also roped in Vaibhav Garje for INR 20 lakh from Category B.

Elsewhere, Telugu Titans bought young raider Manjeet for INR 27 lakh while Haryana Steelers acquired right cover defender Sanjay for INR 13.20 lakh.

Among the other Category D players, newcomer Mohd. Amaan was sold to Puneri Paltan for INR 16.20 lakh while Stuwart Singh was bought by U Mumba for INR 14.20 lakh.

No bid for "The Showman"

The star Indian raider, Rahul Chaudhari, also known as "The Showman" went unsold at the PKL season 11 auction.

On the other hand, a few more big names, Deepak Niwas Hooda, Monu Goyat, Nitin Tomar, Chandran Ranjit, Narender Hooda, and Vikas Jaglan couldn't find any bid for them

Now that the franchises have all completed building their squads, fans can eagerly look forward to the start of Pro Kabaddi Season 11 soon.