Pro Kabaddi 2023 Auction: 3 most expensive buys for Bengaluru Bulls
The PKL Auction 2023 is done and dusted. Former champions Bengaluru Bulls signed a total of 16 players at this year's Pro Kabaddi League auction. Coach Randhir Singh Sehrawat seemed to have his plans clear as he roped in some top-quality raiders to support Bharat Hooda in the raid unit.
Vikash Khandola returned to the Bengaluru Bulls at a much lower price, while former U Mumba star Abhishek Singh will don the Bulls jersey for the first time in his PKL career.
The defense received a major boost as well. Asian Games 2023 gold medalist Surjeet Singh has joined the Bengaluru Bulls for the 10th edition of the Pro Kabaddi League. Ponparthiban Subramanian, Vishal Lather and Ran Singh are the other well-known names to join the Bulls' defense.
Now that the PKL Auction 2023 has concluded, here's a look at the top three most expensive signings by the Bulls at this year's auction.
#3 Sachin Narwal - ₹23.25 lakh
Sachin Narwal returned to the Bengaluru Bulls at the Pro Kabaddi 2023 Auction. The Bulls splurged ₹23.25 lakh to resign the all-rounder, who played for them in the previous season as well.
Narwal played 16 matches for the Bulls in Season 9, where he scored 39 points. His raid success rate was 59%, while his tackle success rate was close to 15%. He is likely to feature in the team as a supporting raider, who can also contribute a bit in the defense.
As far as Narwal's numbers are concerned, the all-rounder turned up for the Jaipur Pink Panthers in Seasons 7 and 8. He played a total of 20 matches for the Pink Panthers, amassing 24 points. It will be interesting to see how he performs in his second season for the Bulls.
#2 Monu - ₹24.10 lakh
Former Patna Pirates raider Monu will play for the Bengaluru-based franchise in Pro Kabaddi 2023. The rising star started his PKL journey with Puneri Paltan back in 2017. He earned 49 points in 19 matches of his debut season.
After playing one more season for Pune, Monu switched to the Patna Pirates in 2019. He had a lengthy stint with the Pirates, where he received an opportunity to play 54 matches. The raider was a part of the Patna squad that reached the final in Season 8.
In total, Monu has earned 203 points in 87 matches. He has a High 5 to his name in the defense. Bengaluru showed a lot of faith in him by spending ₹24.10 lakh for his services.
#1 Most expensive pick of Bengaluru Bulls: Vikash Khandola - ₹55.25 lakh
The Bengaluru team management spent ₹1.67 crore last season to acquire Vikash Khandola's services. This year, they managed to sign him for just ₹55.25 lakh. Bengaluru used the FBM card to re-sign their star raider.
Khandola was a big match-winner for the Haryana Steelers, but he could not perform in the same way for the Bulls. He scored 139 points in 24 matches last season, down from his tally of 180 points in 22 games of Season 8. All eyes will be on Khandola when the Bengaluru Bulls play their PKL 2023 match.