PKL Auction 2019: 5 players who earned a bigger contract from last season
The Pro Kabaddi Auction 2019 got underway on the opening day of the two-day auction with some high profile kabaddi stars going under the hammer as close to ₹42.86 Crore rupees was spent by the twelve franchises to procure the services of 89 players across categories.
Siddharth Desai earned the top honors as he bagged a massive contract worth ₹1.45 Crore as he was snapped up by the Telugu Titans while the Puneri Paltan retained faith in their talismanic raider Nitin Tomar as they shelled out ₹1.20 Crore for the raider.
Rahul Chaudhari and Monu Goyat saw a steep reduction in their salary from last season as they had to settle with contracts worth ₹94 lakh and ₹93 lakh respectively while Rishank Devadiga, the other member of last season's 'Crorepati' club earned a little more than half his pay from last season as he was re-procured by UP Yoddha for ₹61 lakh.
However, a couple of key players such as Ravinder Pahal and Mahender Singh earned some extra bucks, courtesy of their tremendous show last season. Here are five such players, who earned a much bigger contract when compared to last season's auctions.
#5 Sunil Siddhgavali - (₹8 lakh to ₹20 lakh)
Playing for the Jaipur Pink Panthers last season, Sunil Siddhgavali was in excellent touch as the burly defender made some fearless tackles and demonstrated his skill on the mat as he picked up 38 points from 16 matches.
Making his debut with the Jaipur Pink Panthers during season five, Siddhgavali was not presented with too many chances but that saw a quick turnaround in the previous season as Siddhgavali earned a start in most matches after being picked for just ₹8 lakh in the auction.
With four 'High-5s' from season six, including an eight-point effort against the Tamil Thalaivas, Siddhgavali's form was imperative for the Pink Panthers and it comes as no surprise that the franchise opted to procure back his services for 2.5 times his price from the sixth season.