PKL 8: Full list of retained players released by teams for the season

After a long wait of two years, Pro Kabaddi League (PKL) will finally be back in action by the end of the year. However, the excitement in the build-up to the tournament has already started.

The 12 teams will go into the player auction for PKL 8 to be held from August 29-31 in Mumbai. This year the league will have a mega-auction, wherein many big players will be available in the market. Teams were allowed to retain six players each from the Elite and New Young players category ahead of the auction.

In what was a rather shocking retention list, some of the biggest names in PKL history failed to find their place back on the team. The biggest name that was missing from the list was Pardeep Narwal. The captain of Patna Pirates, who led the team to three trophies, will not be part of the team for the first time since Season 3.

On that note, here's the full list of players retained by the teams ahead of Season 8 auction.

List of players retained by the teams for PKL Season 8

Jaipur Pink Panthers

Amit Hooda, Vishal, Nitin Rawal, Sachin Narwal, Pavan TR, Sushil Gulia, Elavarsan A

U Mumba

Abhishek Singh, Ajinkya Kapre, Harendra Kumar, Fazel Atrachali, Navneet

Puneri Paltan

Balasaheb Shahji Jadhav, Pawan Kumar Kadian, Hadi Tajik, Sanket Sawant, Pankaj Mohit

Patna Pirates

Neeraj Kumar, Monu, Mohit, Rajveersinh Chavan, Sahil Mann

Dabang Delhi

Vijay Kumar, Neeraj Narwal, Naveen Kumar, Balram, Sumit, Mohit

Gujarat Fortunegiants

Parvesh Bhainswal, Sunil Kumar, Harmanjeet Singh, Sumit, Ankit

Bengal Warriors

Maninder Singh, Mohammad Esmaeil Nabibakhsh, Rinku Narwal, Ravindra Ramesh Kumawat

Bengaluru Bulls

Pawan Kumar Sehrawat, Amit Sheoran, Saurabh Nandal, Banty, Mohit Sherawat

Haryana Steelers

Vikas Khandola, Vinay, Vikas Chillar, Chand Singh

Tamil Thalaivas

Sagar, Himanshu, M Abhishek

Telugu Titans

Rakesh Gowda, Ankit Beniwal, Rajnish, Manish, Akash Choudhary, Akash Dattu Arsul

UP Yoddha

Nitesh Kumar, Sumit, Ashu Singh, Surinder Gill

PKL Season 8 auction details

PKL Season 8 auction will have players divided into four categories. Each category has been allotted a base price.

Category A: INR 30 lakh

Category B: INR 20 lakh

Category C: INR 10 lakh

Category D: INR 6 lakh

Players are sub-categorized as defenders, raiders and all-rounders in each of the four categories. Each team will be given a salary purse of INR 4.4 crore within which they will have to make a squad consisting of a minimum of 18 players. Officials have reported that a total of 500 players are expected to compete in the PKL this year.

Where to watch the PKL Season 8 auction?

PKL auctions will be held from August 29-31 in Mumbai. The start time for the auction is reported to be 10 AM. Sony Sports network will be televising the event for Indian viewers.