Pro Kabaddi 2023 Auction: 3 released players who might be bought back
Pro Kabaddi 2023 Auction will take place next month in Mumbai. Several talented kabaddi stars will go under the hammer on September 8 and 9. Ahead of the PKL Auction, all 12 teams announced their lists of retained and released players for the new season.
The likes of Pardeep Narwal, Surender Gill, Nitesh Kumar, Sunil Kumar, Bharat Hooda, Saurabh Nandal, Parteek Dahiya, Jaideep Dahiya, Sachin Tanwar, Aslam Inamdar, Mohit Goyat and Rinku HC have been retained after their fantastic performances in the previous Pro Kabaddi season.
Surprisingly, teams have released some of their top performers from the last season. It looks like the franchises have planned to buy those players back at a better price during the Pro Kabaddi 2023 Auction. Here's a list of three released players who might be bought back by their franchises.
#1 Bengal Warriors may re-sign Maninder Singh at the Pro Kabaddi 2023 Auction
Former Pro Kabaddi League champions Bengal Warriors raised quite a few eyebrows after releasing their captain Maninder Singh ahead of the Pro Kabaddi 2023 Auction. Singh has been one of the most consistent performers in the last few PKL seasons.
Looking at his stats in the Pro Kabaddi League, Maninder has averaged around 200 raid points per season since he returned to the league in the fifth edition. The tall raider finished fifth in the Most Raid Points list last season, scoring 238 raid points in 21 matches.
In an exclusive chat with Sportskeeda, Maninder Singh spoke about the possibility of returning to Bengal Warriors at the Pro Kabaddi 2023 Auction and said:
"It's been a wonderful journey with Bengal Warriors. I have played for Bengal ever since I came back in PKL. I have a lot of memories and we also won the tournament (PKL 7 title). We will see what happens in auction, all depends on auction dynamics."
Maninder will likely be among the most expensive players at this year's auction. It will be interesting to see if the Bengal Warriors can re-sign him.
#2 Haryana Steelers can think of buying Manjeet back at the Pro Kabaddi 2023 Auction
All-rounder Manjeet scored the highest points for the Haryana Steelers in the previous Pro Kabaddi League season. Manjeet attained the ninth position in the raiders' leaderboard, scoring 149 raid points in 22 matches for the Haryana-based franchise.
While Haryana Steelers have retained K Prapanjan in their raiding unit, they have let go of Manjeet. Considering his performance in the previous PKL season, it should not be a surprise if Manjeet returns to the Steelers.
#3 Mohammadreza Chiyaneh, Patna Pirates
Three-time champions Patna Pirates decided against retaining their Iranian superstar Mohammadreza Chiyaneh ahead of the Pro Kabaddi 2023 Auction. Chiyaneh was Patna's biggest match-winner last season. He scored 84 tackle points in 20 matches.
Despite being the most successful overseas defender in the previous PKL season, Chiyaneh did not receive a place in the list of players retained by Patna Pirates. It will be interesting to see if the Patna-based franchise target him at the auction.