PKL Auction 2024: Top five most expensive Indians in Pro Kabaddi League history
The 2024 Pro Kabaddi League (PKL) auction is set to take place on August 15 and 16 in Mumbai with more than 500 players slated to go under the hammer.
In the past 10 seasons of the league, huge amounts of money have been splurged to secure the services of some of the best payers in India by the franchises.
In this year’s auction too, some records could very well be broken to rewrite the price tag of the most expensive Indian player in the PKL history.
Here’s a look at the five most expensive Indian players in the history of the Pro Kabaddi League:
Pawan Sehrawat (2.605 crore)
The powerful raider broke his own record of being the most expensive player, Indian or otherwise, in the league when he was bought by the Telugu Titans for a whopping Rs. 2.605 crores ahead of the 2023 season.
Despite having Sehrawat amongst its ranks, the Titans finished at the bottom of the table with just 21 points off 22 games.
Ahead of the 2024 auction, it remains to be seen whether the Telugu side buys back the raider or another team snaps up the experienced player.
Maninder Singh (2.12 crore)
Another raider of great repute, Maninder Singh became the most expensive Final Bid Match (FBM) buy of the league when Bengal Warriors decided to bring him after releasing him ahead of last season’s auction. Maninder was bought for Rs. 2.12 crores.
The Warriors finished just out of the top six after the league stage and missed out on a playoffs spot. However, Maninder justified his price tag by ending the campaign with the fourth-highest raid points (197).
This time too, he has been released by Bengal Warriors. Will the season seven champion bring the raider back?
Vikash Kandola (1.70 crore)
Raiders continue to be in high demand and all franchises are ready to spend big on them. Vikash Kandola during the season nine auction is one such example.
Having helped the Haryana Steelers to reach the playoffs twice in his four-year stint, Vikash moved to Bengaluru Bulls in 2022 for a tag of Rs. 1.70 crores. In his debut campaign with the Bulls, the raider scored 135 points and helped his side reach the semifinals. However, last season saw the Bengaluru side finish a lowly eighth.
In the list of released players, Vikash Kandola was amongst those who were let go by the Bulls ahead of the 2024 auction.
Pardeep Narwal (1.65 crore)
After spending five seasons with the Patna Pirates, which included three consecutive PKL titles, Pardeep Narwal was bought by UP Yoddhas for Rs. 1.65 crores in 2021.
His presence in the Yoddhas setup proved to be beneficial for the franchise as it went till the semifinals of the 2021-22 season before bowing out at the hands of his former side Patna Pirates.
This time, he’s out there for any side to get Pardeep amongst its ranks since he is one of the many released players ahead of the auction.
Monu Goyat (1.51 crore)
The Haryana Steelers emptied its pockets out quite a bit to accomodate Monu Goyat in the side after buying him for Rs. 1.51 crores ahead of the sixth season in 2018.
However, the Steelers finished last in the Zone A table and failed to make it to the playoffs.
Monu then changed sides in the subsequent seasons, and last played for the Telugu Titans in 2022. The Titans finished last in that campaign.