"Telugu Titans team management made a good decision by not retaining me"- Siddharth Desai
Siddharth Desai was the most expensive player in the previous Pro Kabaddi League auction. The Telugu Titans splurged ₹1.45 crore at the time to acquire his services. However, the squad seemed a little imbalanced as Desai did not receive enough support from the other players of the team.
Ahead of the 2021 PKL Auction, the Telugu Titans released a majority of their players, aiming to form a more balanced squad. They seemingly achieved that target on Day 2 of PKL Auction 2021 as they added the likes of Surender Singh to the squad while retaining Siddharth Desai via the FBM card.
The Titans got Desai back for ₹1.3 crores, ₹15 lakh less than what they paid for him in the previous season. The savings increased the Telugu Titans' auction purse, thereby allowing them to bid for other big names. Siddharth Desai told Star Sports after Telugu Titans bought him back:
"The Telugu Titans team management made a good decision by not retaining me. They released me back into the auction pool. They thought we should form a balanced team. The Telugu Titans have signed some excellent players so far in the PKL Auction 2021. Surender Singh and Mahender Singh are good defenders. So, I think we will have a much more balanced squad this year."
Siddharth Desai and Pardeep Narwal could have played together for the Telugu Titans in PKL 2021
Pardeep Narwal was expected to receive the most expensive contract on Day 2 of the 2021 PKL Auction. The predictions of many fans and experts came true as UP Yoddha signed him for ₹1.65 crores.
The Telugu Titans were also interested in Pardeep's services. In fact, they started the bidding with a whopping ₹1.2 crore bid. However, they did not have enough funds to sign the 'Dubki King'.