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In a first of its kind scenario, as part of the VIVO Pro Kabaddi League 2018 auctions, the introduction of the 'Final Bid Match' card is sure to add some spice to the even on the 30th and 31st of May 2018.
The 'Final Bid Match' card, which will be offered to teams based on the number of elite players retained, will serve as an opportunity for teams to retain the services of some of the previous seasons' top players.
In light of the upcoming auctions, here are the top players who can be expected to be bought back by their respective franchises.
#12 Tamil Thalaivas - K Prapanjan
In what turned out to be a horrific season for the Tamil Thalaivas in their debut season, the Ajay Thakur-led side finished with the wooden spoon in Zone B, with six wins and two ties from 22 matches.
With the auctions coming up, the Thalaivas will look to beef up their defence to aid Amit Hooda's proficiency on the right corner but will also need to look to strengthen the raiding department, which can do with the re-acquisition of the lanky K Prapanjan, who impressed with 124 points from 22 matches and played second fiddle to extremely good effect.
Given his chemistry with skipper Ajay Thakur from last season, the Thalaivas will look to get Prapanjan back in the ranks in order to make the skipper's job easier.
#11 Dabang Delhi KC - Abolfazl Maghsoudlou
For a long time now, Dabang Delhi KC has been a team that has underperformed, unable to put together a string of commendable performances. Now, having retained their stalwart in captain Meraj Sheykh, Delhi will hope to go into the auctions with a clear frame of mind, execute their plans and return with a strong team.
One of the only players who performed for Delhi last season was Abolfazl Magsoudlou and he is the only candidate for retention going by the form he was in all through the previous season. When Delhi purchased a large chunk of the Bengal Warriors' defence in Bajirao Hodage and Nilesh Shinde, a lot was expected of them but their hopes were dashed
Along with Meraj, Abolfazl took up the raiding duties to pick 97 points from 19 games, and given his chemistry with national skipper Meraj, he could be a valuable buy-back option for Dabang Delhi.
#10 Jaipur Pink Panthers - Manjeet Chhillar/Pawan Kumar Kadian
One of the three teams to have not retained even a single player, the Pink Panthers raised a whole lot of eyebrows after they allowed their lynchpin and captain Manjeet Chhillar to throw his hat in the mix as part of the auctions.
While Manjeet did suffer from a bout of injuries right through the tournament, his presence on the mat has always been inspirational and with big numbers against his name, the Panthers will hope to buy him back in the auctions and build a solid team around him.
Yet another talented youngster whom the Panthers could potentially target is Pawan Kumar, an ex-Bengaluru Bulls raider who was fantastic last season. Covering up for the inefficiency of Jasvir Singh and taking up the raiding duties, Pawan Kumar picked 122 points from 22 games and can prove to be a massive addition to the team.
#9 Telugu Titans - Rahul Chaudhari/Vishal Bharadwaj
One of the best playmakers in the Pro Kabaddi League is Rahul Chaudhari, who holds the record for the most number of points in the league's history, 710 from five seasons inclusive of 666 raid points, the most for a raider as well. Given his prolific raiding, Rahul Chaudhari is sure to earn a very fat contract in the auctions and it would be interesting to see if the Titans opt to buy him back.
Guarding the left corner for the Titans last season was Vishal, who made raiding difficult for the opposition. A constant presence on the left corner, Vishal picked 71 points from 22 matches and led the defence. With the Titans having retained two raiders in Nilesh and Mohsen Maghsoudlou, they could well exercise their card to buy back the prolific defender.
#8 U Mumba - Kashiling Adake/Anup Kumar/Shrikant Jadhav
One of Pro Kabaddi League's most decorated raiders is Kashiling Adake. He had a good season in the previous edition, picking up 122 points from 20 matches, which meant eyebrows were raised when U Mumba opted to let him go along with skipper Anup Kumar, who has played the entirety of his PKL career with U Mumba.
While Anup Kumar's release could be attributed to him slowly walking into the twilight of his career, his experience could come to good aid for U Mumba, who could also explore the option of retaining Shrikant Jadhav, who impressed on his debut last season, picking 98 points from 19 matches.
#7 Bengaluru Bulls - Mahender Singh/Sunil Jaipal
The Bulls, who made an obvious choice with the retention of Rohit Kumar, will have to look for candidates on whom to use the 'Final Bid Match' card and the front-runner for that is the young left cover defender Mahender Singh. In what turned out to be a dream season for the youngster last time around, he picked up 58 points from 22 games to finish 9th on the list of top defenders.
Sunil Jaipal, who came into the reckoning late in the previous season, turned out to be an impactful player for the Bulls in both the raiding and defence departments. At a time when retained all-rounder Ashish Kumar Sangwan could not contribute much, Jaipal took up the responsibility and picked 16 raid points to go with his 15 tackle points from 13 games.
#6 Haryana Steelers - Surender Nada/Vikas Kandola
The Steelers, ahead of the auctions, opted to retain the lesser-known Kuldeep Singh, which has left a lot of options open for them to get back the services of some of their star players from last season.
One such option is Surender Nada, who captained the Steelers till the second eliminator. However, given his prowess, the Steelers might have to break the bank to procure his services which could instead prompt them to go for the likes of Mohit Chhillar/Vikas in case they cannot get back their skipper.
Another option for the Steelers is to retain the young Vikas Kandola, who impressed with his excellent raiding. From just nine matches, Kandola picked 58 points and was instrumental in the Steelers' victories in the previous edition.
#5 U.P Yodda - Rishank Devadiga/Nitin Tomar/Nitesh Kumar
One of the teams that have a problem of plenty having opted not to retain any player, the Yoddha will need to have their strategies sorted out with a plethora of options to pick from when it comes to the 'Final Bid Match' card. With an option to get back two of their players, Yoddha will need to pick between some big names such as Rishank Devadiga, Nitin Tomar, Rajesh Narwal and their best defender last season, Nitesh Kumar.
In the previous auctions, Nitin Tomar grabbed the headlines as he became the costliest player, going for a whopping INR 93 lakh but with the stakes high in this auction, his price might fall, which could play on the minds of the Yoddha management who would also want to build the side around the dynamic Rishank Devadiga.
#4 Puneri Paltan - Deepak Niwas Hooda/Ravi Kumar
The Paltan opted to retain four of their players in Sandeep Narwal, Rajesh Mondal, More GB and the dynamic left corner Girish Maruti Ernak. With these four being retained, the Paltan have managed to set their defensive pillars while the raiding can also be taken up by Mondal and More GB.
With only one card left to exercise, they could well target Deepak Niwas Hooda but with his price tag set to hit the roof, they might have to look at alternatives in the form of Monu. They could also add some firepower to the defence with the addition of Ravi Kumar, who played the supporting role to Sandeep and Girish to excellent effect.
#3 Gujarat Fortunegiants - Abozar Mighani/Fazel Athrachali/Chandran Ranjith
The Fortunegiants opted to retain the young trio of Sachin Tanwar, Mahendra Ganesh Rajput and Sachin Tanwar ahead of the auctions and will hope to find some support for Sunil in the form of Iranians Abozar Mighani or Fazel Athrachali, both of whom were phenomenal last season.
Abozar, who outperformed his skipper Fazel, would certainly be on the Fortunegiants' radar. They might also want to retain the nippy raider Chandran Ranjith, who came into his own in the latter half of the tournament and brought his side some valuable points with his ability to crank up the pace on the mat.
#2 Bengal Warriors - Deepak Narwal/Ran Singh
The Warriors chose to retain their top defender and top raider in Surjeet Singh and Maninder Singh respectively which came as no surprise, with the duo helping the Warriors make their first final. Now, with the core set, the Warriors will look to make the best use of their card to beef up their squad.
One possible option they could look at is Deepak Narwal, who played second fiddle to Maninder Singh to great effect, even overpowering the Korean raider Jang Kun Lee on certain occasions. Another vital addition could be allrounder Ran Singh, whose experienced raiding and strong tackles earned him a total of 64 points from 23 games last season.
#1 Patna Pirates - Monu Goyat/Vishal Mane
Defending champions Patna Pirates have already retained four players in Pardeep Narwal, Jawahar Dagar, Manish Kumar and Jaideep which leaves them with just one 'Final Bid Match' card to exercise across the two days of the auctions.
The Pirates would do well to get back the services of Services player Monu Goyat, who impressed with some excellent raiding skills that saw him pick 202 points from just 26 matches.
Vishal Mane, one of the league's biggest names, also enjoyed a good season as he finished with 39 points from 26 games and his presence in the right cover position could be an added bonus.
