Pro Kabaddi League Auction 2019: Five most expensive players from the auction
Pro Kabaddi League Season 7 auctions ended on a good note with the franchises spending around Rs. 50 Cr on 200 players in the auction. The auction was held over 2 days, with Day 1 mainly involving the popular Kabaddi players across the globe while Day 2 was mostly used by the teams to fill out the gaps in the squad and also buy a few unsold players from Day 1.
Siddharth Desai and Nitin Tomar received the highest bids at the auction with the duo going for ₹1.45 Cr and ₹1.2 Cr respectively. While Siddarth will play for the Telugu Titans next season, Nitin Tomar will remain with the Puneri Paltan.
A few youngsters also made big money at the auctions with youngster Manjeet going for a whopping ₹63 Lakhs to Puneri Paltan. Veterans like Rahul Chaudhari and Surender Nada also went for big money at the auction while a few experienced players remained unsold.
With the purse of each team increased to ₹4.4 Cr before the auctions, big-money buys were expected to occur. Naturally, the salaries of a lot of players have increased from the previous auctions.
We have seen a number of top bids in the auction and here are the five most expensive players:
#5 Sandeep Narwal - ₹ 0.89 Cr (U Mumba)
Sandeep Narwal was retained by Puneri Paltan before the previous auctions and hence was not part of the event in 2018.
However, the 23-year-old was released by his franchise ahead of the upcoming season and the young all-rounder has made it big in the auctions. Narwal is a genuine right-cover defender who is more than a useful raider.
His physicality and quick instincts are an asset on the mat and hence, Sandeep was purchased for a big amount of ₹89 Lakhs by U Mumba in the auctions. Sandeep is also a good leader who has the ability to influence a game in a matter of a few minutes. Hence, it wouldn't be a surprise if Sandeep's performance next season will have an effect on his team's chances.