PKL Auction 2021: What is the 'FBM Card' in Pro Kabaddi League?

The release of some big names ahead of the PKL Auction 2021 has been the talk of the town. Avid fans and pundits are eagerly waiting to find out which colored outfit the likes of Pardeep Narwal, Siddharth Desai and Deepak Niwas Hooda will don.

However, they might just return to their previous franchises this year too, without the team even having to bid for them. Well, how is that possible? The answer lies in the Final Bid Match (FBM) rule.

The Final Bid Match rule allows teams to buy back players that have been released from their sides ahead of the auction at the price of the final bid from a rival team. The FBM card enables a team to wait until the bidding for a player, who was previously on their team, to complete and then purchase him at the price of the final bid.

So, what exactly are FBM Cards?Auctioneer Mallika Sagar explains what is the Final Bid Match Card.Learn who can use them and how. pic.twitter.com/Fld1P2UZCR

— ProKabaddi (@ProKabaddi) August 27, 2021

There is, however, a restriction on the number of FBM cards that a franchise possesses. If a side has retained the maximum possible six Elite Players, they will not be eligible to use the Final Bid Match card.

If a side has retained five Elite Players, they will be provided with the option to exercise the FBM card once. Finally, if a team has retained four or fewer Elite Players, they will be given the option to use the FBM card twice.

At the PKL Auction 2021, each of the twelve franchises will have two FBM cards at their disposal. U Mumba have retained four Elite Players while on the other end of the spectrum, UP Yoddha and Tamil Thalaivas have not retained a single Elite Player ahead of the PKL Auction 2021.

How the FBM Card will be used at PKL Auction 2021

The twelve franchises will strategically look to use their FBM Cards at the PKL Auction 2021.

Post the completion of bidding on a released player at the PKL Auction 2021, the concerned team will be given the option to exercise their FBM card by auctioneer Mallika Sagar. If they accept, the player will return to his previous franchise at the price of the selling bid from the rival team. However, if the team declines, the player will be sold to the team which had raised the paddle to bid last.

🥁🥁🥁Doubling the #vivoProKabaddiPlayerAuction excitement is our auctioneer Mallika Sagar!Let's welcome our first Indian auctioneer and get ready for a 🤯 auction this season. pic.twitter.com/Qhw1YkC1rP

— ProKabaddi (@ProKabaddi) August 26, 2021

The Final Bid Match Card rule, which was introduced ahead of Season 6, gives a new dimension to the auction and forces the sides to make multiple plans. Some notable players on whom the FBM card was used in the Season 7 auction were Nitin Tomar (Puneri Paltan), Mahender Singh (Bengaluru Bulls), Parvesh Bhainswal (Gujarat Fortunegiants) and Rishank Devadiga (UP Yoddha).