Pro Kabaddi League 9: Which team spent the maximum at the auction
By the second day of the auction, a total of ₹50.86 crores was spent by a wide variety of players. The roster includes the likes of Pawan Sehrawat, Pardeep Narwal and Fazel Atrachali, known for their reliability and experience
Kabaddi : Scaling record in AuctionsHowever, it also had youngsters like Vikash Kandola and Guman Singh. As good quality players flooded the auctions, here are five franchises that generously partook in the event.
Bengaluru Bulls (INR 2.73 crores)
The Bulls offloaded Pawan into the auction PKL pool and proposed bids for Sachin and Manjeet as backup options. They wanted to use the FBM for Pawan, but when Vikash Kandola crossed the INR one crore 50 lakh mark, the club decided to fixate on Vikash.
They picked up Category C raider Neeraj Narwal and left their defence untouched. However, a right cover might have benefitted the club, although it will depend on coach Randhir Sehrawat to procure a playoff finish.
Tamil Thalaivas (INR 2.82 crores)
The Thalaivas did not waste time landing Pawan Sehrawat, the 'High Flier' who cost them more than 50% of their budget. Consequently, they couldn't invest in other team areas, namely the covers and a support raider.
Surjeet will be missed in the upcoming season despite Sagar's presence. The absence of a support raider could put immense pressure on Pawan, but he would bring in many points whenever he was on the mat.
Gujarat Giants (INR 3.12 crores)
The Giants picked up raider Sonu and poured the rest of the money in pursuit of category C domestic players. They did not acquire a single Category A player, but players like Rinku Narwal at INR 40 lakhs, Chandran Ranjith at ₹30 lakhs, and Sandeep Kandola at ₹20 lakhs.
With tremendous bench strength, they could successfully rebuild their club. Ram Mehar Singh is the current head coach after Manpreet Singh's exit.
U Mumba (INR 3.20 crores)
After failing to bring in prime target Pawan Sehrawat, they had to adopt a different strategy. So we saw them turn their attention to stars like Guman Singh, Ashish, and the sole retained Elite Player Rinku. They will be difficult to tackle if the trio find their footing.
Telugu Titans (INR 3.45 crores)
Due to their sensible player preferences, the Titans now have the most powerful starting seven in the Pro Kabaddi League. Instead of going for glory purchases, they tried to seal the holes in their system by making quality acquisitions.
Their buys did not make it to the list of five costliest picks category-wise, so they had a strategy for the auction. They will be a strong team this year if their plans bear fruit.