PKL Auction 2019 Predictions: List of top players who can be bought back with 'Final Bid Match' card
The festival for every kabaddi fan around the world, i.e., Pro Kabaddi League is all set to commence from the 19th of July, 2019. However, auctions being a crucial aspect of the game will take place on the 8th and 9th of April, where a total of 442 players will go under the gravel.
Ecstasy is in the air and if we sit back and reiterate the season 6 auction, which took place on the 30th and 31st of May last year, the level of expectation is insane.
Let me refresh your memory a bit. Monu Goyat, bought by Haryana Steelers last season, became the priciest non-cricketing player after bagging a whopping ₹151 lakhs.
We saw players like Rahul Chaudhari, Rishank Devadiga, Deepak Hooda and Nitin Tomar turn into overnight crorepatis. Even Fazel Atrachali became the costliest foreign player after U Mumba sealed the deal by buying him for a leviathan total of ₹100 lakhs.
Massive players not retained
Shockingly enough, for the seventh season, players like Siddharth Desai, Rahul Chaudhari, Nitin Tomar, Rishank Devadiga and Monu Goyat were not retained by their franchises. What was their strategy? Well, we don't know.
Final Bid Match Rule
Nonetheless, PKL introduced the Final Bid Match Rule last season, which enabled a team to bring back its prior season's player, once some other team's bid for that particular player has been accepted.
Elaborating the whole scenario, the team using the FBM card will be paying the final amount for which the player got sold. The number of FBM cards in each teams' bag will depend on the number of elite players retained.
Now, the number of FBM cards to be used by a team depends on the number of elite retained players. A team was allowed to retain six Elite Players this season. A team with five ERP will get one FBM card.
However, any team with four or less will get two FBM's to use. Also, any team with six ERP's won't be getting any FBM.
Now, keeping the approaching auctions in mind, let us now see the list of top players who can be bought by their corresponding franchise:
#12 Patna Pirates - Deepak Narwal / Manjeet
The sixth season was the most amateurish one for the three-time champions Patna Pirates. It is safe to say that pretty much everything went wrong for them.
Pardeep Narwal tried his best to keep the Pirate ship floating but with no luck. Retaining this prodigy is the best move made by the team. The management also retained Vikas Jaglan and Jawahar Dagar.
Covering up the blunders, the grey-eyed youngster Manjeet did everything and pitched in points whenever required. Using the FBM card on this player will surely benefit the team.
Furthermore, there was a noticeable absence of teamwork in the Pirates squad. Despite that, Deepak Narwal strived hard to keep up the pace with Pardeep and help him. Patna has the choice to bring him back through FBM.