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PKL Auction 2021 concluded after three days of intense strategizing and bidding wars from all 12 franchises. All teams entered the auction to fill the gaps and build dependable squads for the upcoming eighth edition of the PKL, slated to take place in December.
An expenditure of ₹48.21 crores by the end of the three-day auction led to over 190 signings for PKL Season 8. The auction threw up some exciting moments with intense bidding wars and strategies among the teams.
The stage for the PKL Auction 2021 was set to have a blockbuster bidding war as it featured the 'Record-breaker' Pardeep Narwal for the first time in history.
The teams have banked upon a plethora of young unknown commodities, while seasoned players were in less demand at PKL Auction 2021. A total of nine players returned to their previous teams through the Final Bid Match (FBM) cards.
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In this listicle, let's take a look at the five costliest players that were bought by the teams in PKL Auction 2021.
Top-5 costliest players bought by the teams in PKL Auction 2021:
#5 Sachin Tanwar - ₹84 lakhs, Patna Pirates
Gujarat Giants' lanky raider Sachin Tanwar will now don the green jersey of the Patna Pirates after the team shelled out ₹84 lakhs to gain his services.
With 433 raid points and 16 Super-10s to his name, Sachin Tanwar has proven himself to be a top-notch performer in the PKL in the past three seasons.
The Patna Pirates parted their ways with 'Record-breaker' Pardeep Narwal, who contributed three titles to the side with more than 1,000 raid points. Patna was looking to purchase a quality lead raider who could attack up front, and hence they signed Sachin Tanwar to the offensive unit.
Sachin Tanwar will be joined by the likes of Prashanth Kumar Rai and Jang Kun Lee in the eighth season of the PKL. The newly-revamped offensive unit of the Patna Pirates will look to make a bold statement in the days to come.
#4 Manjeet Dahiya - ₹92 lakhs, Tamil Thalaivas
Manjeet Dahiya made his PKL debut with the Patna Pirates back in the sixth edition, but joined the Puneri Paltans next season. He has been impressive with his ability to score touch points with his 6-foot long reach to the midline and inflict decent tackles on the raiders as well.
Dahiya has scored 201 raid points with five Super-10s to his name thus far. He also has 43 tackle points up his sleeve, proving his ability to contribute in both departments of the game.
Tamil Thalaivas underwent a complete revamp by releasing all of their star players including Ajay Thakur, Manjeet Chhillar and Rahul Chaudhari. The team was looking to add youngsters who could step up and perform on the big stage. Hence, the Thalaivas splurged ₹92 lakhs on Manjeet Dahiya at the PKL Auction 2021.
Manjeet Dahiya will be representing the Chennai-based franchise as the team looks to start afresh in the upcoming PKL 8.
#3 Arjun Deshwal - ₹96 lakhs, Jaipur Pink Panthers
Arjun Deshwal impressed everyone in PKL 7 for U Mumba when he scored 104 raid points and three Super-10s for the side. His contribution was vital as the team reached the semi-finals with him and Abhishek Singh leading the offense.
Arjun was fantastic during his campaign for the Services team in the 68th Senior National Kabaddi Championship. He raided alongside Naveen Kumar and Manjeet Dahiya to take the side to the silver medal. The Jaipur Pink Panthers have signed this talented raider at a whopping ₹96 lakhs, making Arjun the third-most costliest player of PKL 8.
Arjun Deshwal will be joined by star all-rounder Deepak Niwas Hooda. They will look to lead the offensive unit for the Abhishek Bachchan-owned franchise in its eighth season.
#2 Siddharth Desai - ₹1.30 crores, Telugu Titans
'Bahubali' Siddharth Desai was bought by the Telugu Titans as the Hyderabad-based franchise exercised their Final Bid Match card of ₹1.30 crores.
The 29-year-old made a sensational debut for U Mumba when he won the 'Best Debutant' award in PKL 6. Desai became the fastest player to score 50, 100, and 200 raid points in history that season.
Later on, Siddharth Desai became the most expensive signing at the PKL 7 Auction when the Telugu Titans paid him ₹1.45 crores back in 2019. He has appeared in the top-5 highest raid points tally in both seasons and has a total of 435 raid points with 22 Super-10s at a brilliant average of 10.11.
Siddharth Desai will join forces with a new partner in Rohit Kumar as the exciting pair will be taking charge of Telugu Titans in PKL 8.
#1 Pardeep Narwal - ₹1.65 crores, UP Yoddha
"Record-breaker" Pardeep Narwal added another feather to his cap at the PKL Auction 2021 when he became the most expensive player in the league's history. Pardeep Narwal will now have a new home after spending five seasons with the Patna Pirates. It was UP Yoddha who broke the bank to sign him at ₹1.65 crores.
Pardeep has single-handedly led the offense for the Patna Pirates as their ace raider for the past five seasons. The Dubki king led the team to three consecutive titles from season 3 to 5. He also became the first raider in PKL history to cross a monumental tally of 1,000 raid points while donning the green jersey.
Pardeep Narwal will play alongside Shrikant Jadhav, Nitesh Kumar and Sumit Sangwan in the eighth season of PKL. A new franchise after five long seasons means that fans will get to see a new side of the 'Record-breaker' in the days to come ahead.
