The Pro Kabaddi League, India's second most-watched sporting league, announced the list of players retained by the 12 teams. The biggest surprise came from three-time champion Patna Pirates' camp as it let go of the PKL's all-time leading scorer Pardeeep Narwal.
PKL Auctions 2021 Highlights: Only four New Young Players signed, Puneri Paltan ropes in two
The likes of national team captain Deepak Niwas Hooda, Ajay Thakur, Rahul Chaudhari, Siddharth Desai, and Rohit Kumar have also been released and will go under the hammer at the auctions to be held in Mumbai from August 29 to 31. A total of 59 players were retained across all three categories with 22 in the Elite Retained Players (ERP) category, six in the Retained Young Players (RYP) category, and 31 in the New Young Players (NYP) category. The non-retained players The eighth season of the Pro Kabaddi League will begin December.
RELATED| PKL Season 8 auctions to take place between August 29-31
Defending champion Bengal Warriors retained its captain Maninder Singh along with Iran's Mohammed Esmaeil Nabibaksh. Pawan Kumar Sehrawat, who led the scoring charts last season has been retained by Bengaluru Bulls, while PKL 7's MVP Naveen Kumar has been retained by Dabang Delhi under the ‘Retained Young Players’ category.
U Mumba held on to Iran's Fazel Atrachal, while Parvesh Bhainswal (Gujarat Giants), Vikash Khandola (Haryana Steelers), and Nitesh Kumar (U.P. Yoddha) have also been retained by their respective teams.
Here's the complete list of retained players -
