Pawan Kumar Sehrawat, who was acquired by Tamil Thalaivas emerged as the most expensive buy at PKL 9 auctions.
Pro Kabaddi League Trophy. (Photo Source: Pro Kabaddi League/Twitter)
The Pro Kabaddi League (PKL) Season 9 player auctions was successfully conducted by Mashal Sports in Mumbai on 5-6 August 2022. Pawan Kumar Sehrawat, who was acquired by Tamil Thalaivas emerged as the most expensive buy at the two-day event. A total of 130 players were sold to the 12 franchisees during the player auction over the two days, across the four categories of players auctioned.
PKL stars continue to dominate
The highlight of the auction was Pawan Kumar Sehrawat smashing the all-time record after he was bought by Tamil Thalaivas for a whopping sum of INR 2.26 crore. Vikash Khandola found a new home in Bengaluru Bulls after he was bought for INR 1.70 crore (a record he held till Pawan Kumar Sehrawat was bid). The raider became the second most expensive buy ever in the Pro Kabaddi League player auction history. Pardeep Narwal returned to the UP Yoddhas side after the franchisee used the final bid mMatch (FBM) Card at INR 90 lakh.
Meanwhile, Raider Guman Singh emerged as the most expensive Category B player at the vivo Pro Kabaddi League player auction, being bought for a whopping INR 1.21 crore by U Mumba. Furthermore, defender Sunil Kumar was the second most expensive player in Category B. He was picked up by Jaipur Pink Panthers for INR 90 lakh.
Haryana Steelers snap Amirhossein Bastami
Amirhossein Bastami was the stand-out in Category C after being sold for a whopping INR 65.10 lakh to Haryana Steelers. Meanwhile, Ravi Kumar emerged as the surprise pick after he was bought for INR 64.10 by Dabang Delhi K.C. Neeraj Narwal (INR 43 lakh) and Rinku Narwal (INR 40 lakh) also earned massive amounts as they were acquired by Bengaluru Bulls and Gujarat Giants respectively.
Talking about the challenge to grow the league over the years, Mr. Anupam Goswami, Mashal Sports, CEO, Sports League, Disney Star and League Commissioner, Pro Kabaddi League, said ahead of the auction: “The biggest question is what would a league bring to stakeholders, players and more than that to consumers. What do you do to your consumers? You have to guarantee the best competition possible. I think for a number of reasons PKL is blessed to say that we have the cream of the Kabaddi players in the world, we are able to show that we have the best standard of kabaddi possible.
“It has to be relevant and I think people have a huge connection, which our viewership indicates. It’s a sport which has a deep connection with a number of regions such as Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra, and the Hindi-speaking belt in the North. These are big by any demographic classification you look for, including for sponsors. I think more than challenges we have to understand the opportunities and go for them. There will always be some challenges. Sport in India goes through many challenges, we are going through our challenges, but it’s about identifying those opportunities.”
Read all the Latest News, Trending News, Cricket News, Bollywood News, India News and Entertainment News here. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.