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To splurge or not to splurge, in order to assemble a lethal combination, may have been the question uppermost in the minds of all the franchises in the lead up to the auction - but most teams had, in all probability, made up their minds well before the bidding process commenced.
While a few teams went out of their way to zero in on the players they had set their minds on, others refused to throw caution to the winds, but still managed to leave the auction with squads that matched the best.
We take a look at 5 teams that spent the least at the Pro Kabaddi League 2019 auction.
#5 Haryana Steelers (₹261.25 lakhs)
Monu Goyat was the talk of the town before the action commenced last season, after having received a bid for ₹1.51 crore, but the Steelers decided against holding on to the raider, opting instead, to place their faith in Prashant Kumar Rai who will assume raiding duties for the Haryana side after having been picked up for ₹77 lakhs.
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The price was a couple of lakhs shy of what Rai commanded last season but the UP Yoddha raider still ended up being the most expensive buy for the Haryana-based franchise at this season's auction.
Dharmaraj Cheralathan will shore up the defense for the JSW-owned side - the veteran, who was part of India's World Cup winning squad of 2016 has joined the Steelers for a price of ₹38.5 lakhs.
Vikas Kale who was with the Pirates in Season 6 has come on board for ₹34.25 lakhs while raider Naveen was snapped up for ₹33.5 lakhs.
Amir Maleki also joined the Haryana camp for ₹12.5 lakhs and will aid Dharmaraj Cheralathan in helping to ensure the Haryana side's defense is steelier than it was in Season 6.
#4 Gujarat Fortune Giants (₹240 lakhs)
The Fortune Giants who finished as runners up of the Pro Kabaddi League for the last two seasons will no doubt aim to go one better this time around and have the kind of squad that is perfectly capable of achieving the feat.
Haryana lad Parvesh Bhainswal will perform defending duties for the Ahmedabad-based franchise once again after being re-signed for ₹75 lakhs which makes him the most expensive player in the Fortune Giants ranks this season.
Defender Ruturaj Koravi also stays with the Fortune Giants after having been brought back for a price for ₹30.5 lakhs while raider GB More and all-rounder Vinod Kumar received bids of ₹21.25 lakhs and ₹26 lakhs respectively.
Iranian Abolfazl Maghsoudlou adds teeth to the raiding department after being bagged for ₹15.75 lakhs. On paper, the Gujarat side does not appear to have any glaring deficiencies with Vinod Kumar expected to be a key contributor.
#3 U Mumba (₹229 lakhs)
U Mumba who spent a whopping ₹395.3 lakhs to end up as the second-highest spender last season had a more measured approach ahead of Season 7 action.
It was the Mumbai franchise which broke the bank with a ₹1-crore bid for Fazel Atrachali in Season 6 and Ronnie Screwvala's team have decided to retain their star campaigner.
Sandeep Narwal with a price tag of 89 lakhs will fortify an already-strong defensive line up -while Korean raider, Dong Geon Lee, who was netted for ₹25 lakhs will look to put his international experience to good use.
U Mumba has also brought in Tamil Thalaivas raider Athul MS for ₹20 lakhs and the Kerala lad will join Rohit Baliyan up front.
The raiders will need to raise their game and back up their formidable defensive unit if U Mumba is to make a greater impact this season than they have in the past.
#2 Jaipur Pink Panthers (₹178.50 lakhs)
Retention seems to have been the principal mantra for the Pink Panthers who opted to stick with key performers like Deepak Hooda.
The Asian Games gold medalist from Haryana will remain with the Jaipur-based side along with defender Sandeep Kumar. As such, Amit Hooda became the most expensive player for the Panthers after being bagged for a price of ₹53 lakhs.
Deepak Narwal comes in to get things moving up front - the 23-year-old raider who was with the Pirates last season commanded a price of 30.5 lakhs.
Sunil Siddhagavali will continue his raids for the Panthers in Season 6 after being brought back for 20 lakhs. Abhishek Bachchan's franchise has left no room for doubt that they would prefer to proceed with a tried and tested combination.
Nilesh Salunke joins the Panthers with a price-tag of ₹23.5 lakhs and will need to ensure that the defenders match the unmistakable prowess of the raiders.
#1 Bengaluru Bulls (₹157.25 lakhs)
The defending champions had no reason to be desperate - and did not display any signs of the same right through the auction.
An affinity for Nepali talent was made evident following the acquisition of Lalmohan Yadav and Sanjay Shreshth who both cost the Bulls ₹10 lakhs each.
A significant number of retentions made well in advance had made it amply clear that the Bengaluru-based franchise was not aiming for any kind of overhaul - the only question was whether or not there would be any aggressive bidding on a select few from their end.
As it turned out, the Final Bid Match card was put to good use in order to target Mahender Singh for a sum of ₹80 lakhs.
Amit Sheoran, who was retained, will man the defense alongside Mahender - as will Vijay Kumar, who the Bulls got hold of for ₹21.25 lakhs.
Rohit Kumar and Pawan Sehrawat will look to continue from where they left off last season - and under coach Randhir Singh Sehrawat's tutelage, the Bulls can well nurture hopes of earning their second successive title.
