“Paisa barbaad” - Fans react as Gujarat Giants sign Guman Singh for a massive Rs. 1.97 crore bid at Pro Kabaddi 2024 auction
Gujarat Giants went big on the opening day of the Pro Kabaddi League (PKL) season 11 auction as they spent Rs. 1.97 in acquiring the services of raider Guman Singh.
Despite a base price of just Rs. 30 lakhs, UP Yoddhas and Gujarat Giants entered into a bidding war for the attacker, which led to the final mammoth price of almost two crores for Guman.
Fans took to social media to react to the massive amount spent by the Giants in buying Guman, with one fan simply writing:
“Paisa barbaad [waste of money].”
Many fans compared the purchase of Guman for such a high amount to the relatively meager sums spent on more accomplished raiders such as Maninder Singh and Pawan Sehrawat.
“Why is [Gujarat Giants head coach] Ram Mehar Singh so happy after getting Guman Singh at 1.97 crores😭😭,” one fan posted on X. “As good as he is, he isn't better than Pawan Sehrawat and Maninder Singh, not to forget that he is injury prone.”
“What's going on! Raiders market is High 😂 Guman Singh surpasses Pawan Sehrawat now 😱,” another post read.
“Shadlu, Sachin, sunil sabki deal bottle karne ke baad Guman singh ko 2 cr de diya 🤡. 2.10 mai tu shadlu and Pawan mil jate 🤣🤣🤣🤣 [After bottling Shadlu, Sachin, Sunil, everyone’s deal, they gave 2 cr to Guman Singh. For 2.10 they could get Shadlu and Pawan],” one fan wrote.
“Guman ki performance pawan se badhiya to nahi thi [Guman’s performance wasn’t better than Pawan’s],” one post read.
“Worst bid guman singh,” one fan declared on X.
Will Guman Singh overcome injury issues to reach new heights at Gujarat Giants?
Despite being a leading attacking threat for his previous franchise U Mumba, Guman was always prone to injuries at crucial periods of the PKL season. The raider was injured during the tail end of season 10, which seriously impacted U Mumba’s efforts to climb out of the bottom half of the table.
His frequent injuries were part of the reason he was released by the Mumbai-based franchise, as their CEO Suhail Chandhok revealed on social media. However, despite the injuries, Guman had a 64% raid strike success rate in PKL season 10, and his arrival will significantly boost the Gujarat Giant’s attack, who only had a 34% success rate last season.
It is to be seen if the 24-year-old player can maintain his fitness levels throughout the season if he is to become a focal point of his new team’s attack in PKL season 11.