PKL Auction 2021: 5 players who have been shockingly released
After a long wait for two years, the Pro Kabaddi League is finally back for its eighth edition as PKL Auction 2021 will take place from 29th to 31st August in Mumbai. The proceedings for the mega-event have already commenced with the confirmation of a mega-auction, where many star players are set to go under the hammer.
A total of 59 players have been retained ahead of the PKL Auction 2021, consisting of 22 Elite Retained Players (ERP), six in the Retained Young Players (RYP), while 31 New Young Players (NYP) have been retained as well.
A couple of player releases have raised eyebrows ahead of the PKL Auction 2021, and in this article, we take a look at 5 players who have been shockingly released ahead of the PKL 8 auction.
#5 Vishal Bhardwaj (Telugu Titans)
Vishal Bhardwaj has been the Telugu Titans' ace left corner defender since PKL 4, when he first joined the team. The Himachal Pradesh-born Bhardwaj had a breakout campaign in the fifth edition as he stamped his authority with 71 tackle points, the third-most tally that season.
He continued his stellar form with 60 and 62 tackle points in Season 6 and 7 respectively. Notably, Vishal is the only defender in history to score 60 or more tackle points in three seasons consecutively, and his release from the Titans' squad ahead of the PKL Auction 2021 is indeed a surprise.
#4 Rohit Kumar (Bengaluru Bulls)
Rohit Kumar has captained Bengaluru Bulls since the fourth season, and since then, he's been the face of the one-time PKL champions. The team clinched their first-ever title in Season 6 under his leadership, which cemented his name as one of the finest captains in the PKL.
Rohit has amassed 568 raid points for the Bangalore-based franchise, making him the second-best performer for Bengaluru Bulls in their storied history, one spot behind Pawan Sehrawat (673). However, the 31-year-old couldn't perform well in the previous edition, scoring only 94 raid points in 19 matches at an average of 4.94. Yet, many young players have managed to grab the spotlight under his captaincy, proving his credibility as one of PKL's biggest stars.
Teams will be looking to add the star raider to their line-up as Rohit Kumar goes under the hammer at the upcoming PKL Auction 2021.