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The Pro Kabaddi 2023 Auction is done and dusted. The Tamil Thalaivas added seven players to their squad ahead of the new season. The Chennai-based franchise qualified for the playoffs for the first time last season, and will aim to win their maiden championship this season.
Interestingly, the Tamil Thalaivas let go of Pawan Sehrawat and did not choose to resign him via the FBM card at the auction. The Thalaivas did not sign any player for more than ₹31.6 lakh. They returned with almost ₹1 crore remaining in their auction purse.
In this listicle, we will look at the top three most expensive signings by the Tamil Thalaivas at the PKL Auction 2023.
#3 Himanshu Singh - ₹25 lakh
Himanshu Singh was with the Tamil Thalaivas in the last two PKL seasons. The Chennai-based franchise re-signed the raider for ₹25 lakh at the Pro Kabaddi 2023 Auction. Singh had a decent outing with the Thalaivas last season, where he earned 50 points for the team in 18 matches. His raid strike rate was 47%.
With more experience under his belt, Himanshu will look forward to scoring more points for the Thalaivas this season. The team managament has shown a lot of faith in him by using the FBM card for his services.
He will join the likes of Selvamani K, Ajinkya Ashok Pawar, Narender Kandola, and Jatin in the Tamil raiding lineup.
#2 Amirhossein Bastami - ₹30 lakh
Amirhossein Bastami grabbed the headlines at the PKL Season 9 auction when the Haryana Steelers splurged ₹65.10 lakh for his services. Bastami, who is a right corner defender, earned 24 points in 16 matches for the Steelers. His tackle strike rate was 33%.
The Iranian defender was released by the Steelers ahead of the Pro Kabaddi 2023 Auction. He registered himself for the auction at a base price of ₹13 lakh.
After a short bidding war at the auction, the Tamil Thalaivas secured the Iranian defender's services for ₹30 lakh. He did not have a great debut season with the Steelers, which has impacted his salary negatively. The Iranian star will be keen to make the most out of the opportunities that come his way in PKL 10.
#1 Most expensive pick of Tamil Thalaivas: Masana Muthu Lakshnanan - ₹31.6 lakh
Masana Muthu Lakshnanan was present in the Category D of raiders at the PKL Auction 2023. His base price was ₹9 lakh, but the teams showed a lot of interest in his services, which took his eventual selling price to ₹31.6 lakh.
Tamil Thalaivas signed the Tamil Nadu-based raider for ₹31.6 lakh, making him the most expensive pick by the Chennai-based franchise this season. It will be interesting to see how Masana Muthu Lakhshnanan performs in his debut Pro Kabaddi League season.
He has decent numbers at the domestic level, having scored 15 raid points in four matches. However, the pressure is different in the Pro Kabaddi League. The youngster will likely start as a substitute raider for the Thalaivas, but he should get chances to play as the season progresses.
