Pro Kabaddi League 2017, Season 5: Top 5 spenders in auction

The just concluded two-day auction for Pro Kabaddi 2017 was the largest ever in the history of the league. The first marquee event of Season 5 saw an intense bidding war between the twelve franchises in New Delhi. Dynamic Pricing, a real-time determination of an elite player’s salary, was introduced for the first time.

A total of INR 27.27 crores was spent on 60 players on Day 1 of the two-day auction. Nitin Tomar attracted the highest bid of INR 93 lakhs by Team Uttar Pradesh, thereby becoming the most expensive player in the history of Pro Kabaddi League. Jang-Kun Lee, retained by Bengal Warriors, is the highest valued international player, at INR 80.3 lakhs.

The franchises further spent INR 19.72 Crores on Day 2 of the player auction. Suraj Desai was signed by Dabang Delhi for Rs 52.5 lakh, which was the highest bid for a Category B player in history. The auction garnered a consolidated price of INR 46.99 crores for 227 players selected.

Here is the list of the top five spenders at this year’s Pro Kabaddi League auction:

#5 Bengaluru Bulls – Rs 3.94 crores

Bengaluru Bulls chose to retain defender Ashish Kumar ahead of the upcoming season. The 22-year-old from Haryana has been playing for the Bulls since season 2. Their most expensive purchase is 27-year-old raider Rohit Kumar who was bought for a whopping 81 lakhs.

Some of their other top purchases at the auction were category B defender Ashish Kumar for 50.6 lakhs, defender Ravinder Pahal for 50 lakhs, raider Ajay Kumar for 48.5 lakhs and defender Sachin Kumar for 46 lakhs.

#4 Team Tamil Nadu – Rs 3.96 crores

Raider Ajay Thakur was the priority pick for Team Tamil Nadu

Team Tamil Nadu were the first franchise to fill up their maximum quota of 25 players. The Chennai-based franchise, co-owned by Sachin Tendulkar, picked up 31-year-old raider Ajay Thakur as their priority pick for Rs 69.3 lakhs.

An employee of Air India and an Asian Games gold medallist, he is considered as one of the best Indian raiders in history and will add some serious firepower to this new franchise. Their other major signing is 21-year-old Amit Hooda, the former defender of the Jaipur Pink Panthers, purchased for 63 lakhs.

They also bought defenders C. Arun for 33 lakhs, Anil Kumar for 25.5 lakhs and Anil Kumar for 23.2 lakhs.

#3 Bengal Warriors – Rs 3.97 crores

Retained Jang Kun Lee is a local favourite in Kolkata

The Kolkata-based Pro Kabaddi League franchise retained highly consistent 24-year-old Korean raider Jang Kun Lee for an astounding 80.3 lakhs. The owners bought 26 year old Surjeet Singh, who was a champion with Patna Pirates last season, for a whopping 73 lakhs. The defender from the Services will play a key role in strengthening the core of the team.

Former Jaipur Pink Panthers all rounder Ran Singh was picked up for 47.5 lakhs. They also bought raiders Maninder Singh and Deepak Narwal for 45.5 lakhs and 25.5 lakhs respectively.

#2 Telugu Titans – Rs 3.97 crores

Telugu Titans will be led once again by Rahul Chaudhari

Not surprisingly, Telugu Titans retained their captain and lead raider Rahul Chaudhari for 53.9 lakhs, who has been with the team since its very inception. The 23 year old from Uttar Pradesh is a poster boy of Indian kabaddi.

They also swooped in former vice captain of India Rakesh Kumar for 45 lakhs, which is a bargain for the experienced all-rounder. The World cup winner probably went for less than his worth, according to experts.

They added defenders Farhad Rahimi Milaghardan, Rohit Rana and Vinod Kumar. On the second day, they went in for Category B raiders Vikas and Nilesh Salunke.

#1 U Mumba – Rs 3.99 crores

Ever-present captain Anup Kumar will be hoping to lift the trophy once again

Champions of season 2, U Mumba spent the most out of all the 12 franchises in the auction. They unsurprisingly retained their loyal captain and raider Anup Kumar for 56.65 lakhs, who has been there since the beginning. They smartly went in for Iranian all-rounder Hadi Oshtorak and all-rounder Kuldeep Singh who helped Patna Pirates become champions last season.

They have bolstered their attack with the signing of raiders Kashiling Adake, Nitin Madane and Shabeer Bappu. They also swooped in for defenders Joginder Singh Narwal and D. Suresh Kumar.