The Pro Kabaddi carnival may be slated to begin on the 28th of July later this year but the auctions which were held over the past two days have generated excitement and frenzy all across the country. Over 400 foreign and domestic players went under the hammer over a period of two days and were roped in by the respective owners of the 12 teams, 8 existing and 4 new ones.
The stage is all set to be bigger, grander and more glamorous this time around with the league scheduled to take place for a longer period of 13 weeks, witnessing more than 130 matches, all of which will be telecasted live on the Star Sports network.
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While, the most expensive player to be bought at the auctions was Services man Nitin Tomar, who went for a whopping 93 lakhs to Team Uttar Pradesh, there were quite a few players who proved to be bargain deals for the forthcoming season. Sportskeeda thus looks at 5 such players who were bought at giveaway prices:
#5: Sonu Narwal - 21 lakhs
The Haryanvi raider will play for his state team in the fifth edition of the Pro Kabaddi League but given his outstanding record, one may feel that he did not receive his worth in terms of money. Narwal missed the inaugural season owing to his police training but come the second one, he announced himself on the kabaddi scene in quite some fashion and has been living up to the same.
Rampant with his raiding, Sonu has gathered 138 raid points from his 33 matches and has the ability to completely take away the game from the opposition on his day. Thus, getting in the zesty raider for the price that they got him for, would have surely made the Haryana team thank their lady luck.
#4: Rohit Rana - 27.50 lakhs
There is a dearth of elite left-cover defenders in the game and yet one of the prime prospects, Rohit Rana went to the Telugu Titans team for just 27.50 lakhs. Many would wonder whether the tag was under-priced of sorts given the Himachali defender’s talent and skills.
The low sum can be attributed to the injury concerns of the player which surfaced in the last season due to which he was forced to miss the majority of the matches, but with that done and dusted, Rohit is all raring to go in the forthcoming season.
The former Jaipur Pink Panther has a unique case of identity for having a jaw guard strapped across his face, but below the veiled appearance is a mighty force who has amassed over 70 tackle points from 42 matches and will stand like a wall in the Titans’ defence.
#3: Sukesh Hegde - 31.50 lakhs
With the likes of Rohit Kumar and Nitin Tomar fetching 81 lakhs and 93 lakhs respectively, it was widely expected that the bidding for Sukesh Hegde would also reach on to a similar level. But it was not to be, for Team Gujarat secured the services of this young raider at a throwaway sum of just 31.50 lakhs.
A former Telugu Titans player, Sukesh had been with the Southern outfit since the inception of the Pro Kabaddi League and played in the capacity of a second raider to Rahul Chaudhari.
A true mark of his talent came to the fore when Rahul was relegated to the bench due to injury and Sukesh was entrusted with the task of keeping the scoreboard ticking which he managed to, better than most others in the business, as is evident by his numbers, 209 raid point from 49 matches.
#2: Rishank Devadiga - 45.50 lakhs
The tough seas bring out the best sailors! Rishank Devadiga is one such raider who will bail the team out of trouble in the most difficult of situations on the back of his do-or-die raids. Uttar Pradesh, the new franchise in PKL bagged the services of the young gun for a considerably lesser amount given his past records and form in the last few seasons of the PKL, especially Season 3 when he had finished as the Best Raider in the league.
Rishank will prove to be the key difference for his team in the third raid and will be looking to combine well with Nitin Tomar as well lend a healthy hand in the defence of the team, by assisting the cover defenders.
#1: Mohit Chhillar - 46.50 lakhs
Touted as the top defender by experts and fellow players, Mohit Chhillar was expected to fetch bigger bucks at the auctions. Surprisingly though, Team Haryana bagged the right-cover defender for an economical price tag for in the last PKL auctions, he had emerged as the costliest player, going for 53 lakhs to the Bengaluru Bulls.
With 170 tackle points to his name, Mohit is lethal in the capacity of a defender and can bring down raiders in a flash of a second. His ankle holds, body blocks and chain tackles will particularly be on point this time around as well and when he combines with his partner-in-crime Surender Nada in the Haryana outfit.
