Hello and welcome to Sportstar's highlights of the Pro Kabaddi League (PKL) auctions being held in Mumbai. This was Shyam Vasudevan taking you through the auction as it unfurls.
Thanks a lot for tuning in! Take care and stay safe. And here's some fun PKL content for you until we come back tomorrow. Day two live blog -
7:30pm:
That brings us to the end of our auction coverage for the day, folks! The NYP auction turned out to be a rather tame affair as only four players were signed, but tomorrow's auction featuring the overseas players and Category A domestic players promises to be a lot more exciting.
We will be back with our coverage tomorrow when the overseas player auctions begin at 3pm. As it stands, only three foreigners have been retained - Fazel Atrachalli (U Mumba), Mohammed Esmaeil Nabibakhsh (Bengal Warriors) and Hadi Tajik (Puneri Paltan).
You can check out our preview here to know what you can expect in tomorrow's auction -
7:20pm: The other big name in tomorrow's auction will be ace raider Siddharth Desai. Siddharth, who was bought by the Telugu Titans for a whopping ₹1.45 crore last season, is eager to better his performances this season. “I made a come back from a shoulder injury last season and had a shorter rehab than I would have liked, My start was poor but I got better as my shoulder recovered and I equalled my best career performance [he scored 220 points, one point shy of the 221 he secured for U Mumba in season six]. I am not nervous but excited since my performances have been good and I have big hopes from the auction. I look forward to doing bigger and better things this season around," he says. He will watch the action with his elder brother Suraj Desai, who teamed up with him at Telugu Titans last season.
We caught up with the Desai brothers during last season. From their childhood squabbles to Siddharth's passion for music, here's fun interview with the Kolhapur-based siblings -
7:15pm: While we wait for more details on the four NYPs, word is that the Puneri Paltan camp is eager to sign former national team captain Ajay Thakur. With 811 points from 115 matches, it's no exaggeration to call Iceman Ajay Thakur a PKL legend. The former Tamil Thalaivas captain will be looking for a new team this season and could potentially form a great partnership with his former team-mate Anup Kumar, the current Puneri Paltan coach.
We had caught up with Ajay himself ahead of last season, and here he talks about his Padma Shri award, his kabaddi journey and what is goals are -
7:10pm: The latest we gather is that the auctions for the NYPs has come to an end. From the pool of players who were shortlisted, only four were picked up by the three teams.
7pm: Pardeep Narwal, the PKL's leading scorer of all-time, will feature in the auction for the first time ever. The Dubki King can barely contain his excitement ahead of th auctions.
“ Mujhe bohot khushi ho rahi hai ki mai pehli bar aaya hun auctions mein. Abhi pata nahi hai ki kya hoga, kaunsi team mujhe sign karegi ya Patna Pirates hi mujhe retain karenge, magar mai bohot excited hun. (This is the first time I am in the auction and I am thrilled about it. I can’t say what will happen, which team will pick me or if Patna Pirates will retain me, but I am very excited),” he says.
More on his expectations from the auctions here -
6:55pm: Did you know? Last season's MVP, Naveen Kumar, joined the PKL in season six as an NYP! Here's him talking about his journey in the Future Kabaddi Heroes program, which has unearthed many young talents like him -
6:50pm: As it stands, Puneri Paltan has signed up two NYPs, while Telugu Titans and UP Yoddha have roped in one each. UP Yoddha will be keen to rebuild its squad for the upcoming season as the side retained none of its elite players this season. Tamil Thalaivas is also in a similar situation as it also did not hold on to any of its elite players.
6:45pm: So it appears that the first four NYP players to go under the hammer are -
Mohit Goyat, right raider, Puneri Paltan
Govind Gurjar, all-rounder, Puneri Paltan
Prince, right cover, Telugu Titans
Nitin Panwar, all-rounder, UP Yoddha
6:40pm: While we wait for an update from the auction venue, here's the complete list of players who have been retained by the 12 teams. Can you guess how many foreign players have been retained?
6:30pm: And the auctions are underway! Stay tuned as we bring you live updates.
6:25pm: Did you know? Last season's MVP, Naveen Kumar, joined the PKL in season six as an NYP! Here's him talking about his journey in the Future Kabaddi Heroes program, which has unearthed many young talents like him -
6:20pm: This year's auction promises to be an exciting affair as some of the biggest names in the sport have been released into the auction pool. The likes of Pardeep Narwal, the league's leading scorer in seven seasons, the charismatic Siddharth Desai, national team captain Deepak Niwas Hooda and veteran raiders Rahul Chaudhari and Ajay Thakur will all go under the hammer. Here's what you can expect from the Pro Kabaddi League (PKL) player auction -
6:10pm: The opening day of the three-day Pro Kabaddi League (PKL) auction will see teams vying to rope in the New Young Players (NYP). The NYPs are the uncapped players who come through Mashal Sports' flagship Future Kabaddi Heroes (FKH) programme. The FKH is a nation-wide scouting hunt which sees coaches of various teams travel across the length and breadth of the country to identify and select the best young talents and gives them a platform to further elevate their game by competing in the Pro Kabaddi League.
Some of the most successful finds of the FKH include Dabang Delhi's mercurial raider Naveen Kumar, UP Yoddha's captain and star defender Nitesh Kumar and Gujarat FortuneGiants' ace raider Rohit Gulia.
Here's everything you need to know about the NYPs -
The Pro Kabaddi League (PKL) season eight player auctions will be held in Mumbai from August 29-31. The 12 teams will battle it out to sign the 450-odd players who will go under the hammer.
The eighth season was to be held last year but was postponed due to the coronavirus pandemic and will begin in December this year. It will be the first indoor sporting league to begin in the country since the pandemic.
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Here's all you need to know about the Pro Kabaddi League (PKL) player auctions:
When will the Pro Kabaddi League (PKL) player auctions be held?
The Pro Kabaddi League (PKL) player auctions will be held in Mumbai from August 29-31. The New Young Players (NYP) draft will take place on August 29, while the overseas and Category A players and Category A (domestic players) will go under the hammer on August 30. The auction for categories B, C, D and unallocated players will be held the following day.
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What are the different player categories, and what are the base prices?
The Pro Kabaddi League player auction will have three categories of players - domestic, New Young Players (NYP) and overseas.
Under this, the domestic players are further divided into categories - A, B, C and D. The players in category A have a base price of ₹30 lakh, while category B players have a base price of ₹20 lakh. Category C and D have a base price of ₹10 lakh and ₹6 lakh respectively.
How many overseas players can a team field in the Pro Kabaddi League?
Each team has to field a minimum of two and a maximum of four foreign players in their roster.
How much money can each team spend in the Pro Kabaddi League (PKL) auction?
The 12 teams will each have a total player purse of ₹4.4 crores. However, a team's funds will reduce based on the number of players it retains ahead of the auction. A player’s total salary for the PKL season is determined by the price at which he is signed by a team.
What is the Final Bid Match and how can a team use it?
The Final Bid Match (FBM) rule allows teams to retain a player by matching the final bid made for him.
Each team can use the FBM twice in the auction. However, it also depends on the number of players retained by the team. If a team retains all of its maximum allotted six players, then it cannot use an FBM card. If it retains five players, then it can avail the FMB once. If the team retains less than five players, then it can use the FMB twice.
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What is the maximum number of players each Pro Kabaddi League (PKL) team can have?
Each Pro Kabaddi League team needs to have a minimum of 18 players and a maximum of 25.
Where can you watch the Pro Kabaddi League (PKL) auction in India?
The Pro Kabaddi League (PKL) player auction will be telecast live on the Star Sports network and streamed on the Disney+ Hotstar app on August 31 from 6.30 pm onwards.
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