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Investment at the auction is considered as a crucial step in a team's performance over the course of a season. While teams usually go into auction with a few players in mind, the dynamics of the bidding event may not allow them to secure all of their targeted players.
From the ₹12.8 lakh bid for Rakesh Kumar in season one auction to the ₹1.45 crore that Telugu Titans paid for Siddharth Desai in season seven auction, the Pro Kabaddi League has come a long way.
Apart from prioritizing the procurement of the best talents in the auction pool, teams have now started considering the market value of the players and the image that they could bring to the respective franchises before completing the signings.
Naturally, this has increased the pressure on the expensive players to perform consistently on the mat. Each of their moves throughout is keenly scrutinized and analyzed.
On that note, here is the cost of each point scored by the top 3 buys at the PKL season 7 auction.
#3 Rahul Chaudhari - ₹0.68 lakh
After six seasons, Telugu Titans decided to part ways with their star raider Rahul Chaudhari for the seventh season of the Pro Kabaddi League. At the auction, although Rahul was not expected to earn big due to his waning form, Tamil Thalaivas pulled off a coup by hiring the 'Showman' for ₹94 lakh and partnering him with the Indian captain Ajay Thakur.
However, this partnership has failed to deliver for the team this season. While Ajay has looked completely out of sorts, Rahul has performed slightly better, picking up 138 points from 22 games.
Tamil Thalaivas have spent ₹0.68 lakh on every point that the player has scored till now and although this amount is deemed high for a player who has been inconsistent on the mat, if not for Rahul, the team might have struggled to win games this season.
#2 Nitin Tomar - ₹1.64 lakh
Nitin Tomar was purchased by Puneri Paltan in season six auction for ₹1.15 crore. The youngster responded with decent performances as he collected 102 points from 11 games last season. However, the Pune franchise decided not to retain the player ahead of season seven and allowed him to enter the auction.
In season seven auction, Puneri Paltan brought back the player by shelling out ₹1.20 crore and also using one of their FBM cards on him.
This edition did not begin well for Nitin as he was sidelined for the first two legs due to a muscle pull. The team also suffered due to the lack of an experienced raider at this stage of the tournament.
After returning to the mat, Nitin found it difficult to regain his form and often remained as the deputy for young Manjeet and Pankaj Mohite. He collected just the 73 points from 15 games this season and hence, he cost the Puneri Paltan ₹1.64 lakh per point this season.
#1 Siddharth Sirish Desai - ₹0.66 lakh
After his breakout campaign in season six, Siddharth Desai was touted to be the next big thing in Indian kabaddi. The Maharastra raider took the league by storm in his debut season as he collected 221 points from 21 games for U Mumba and helped the men in orange reach the playoffs.
Although he was expected to be retained by U Mumba ahead of season seven, an injury forced the franchise to release the player ahead of the auction.
However, Siddharth did not lose much on his part as he commanded a whopping ₹1.45 crore bid from the Telugu Titans in the season seven auction and became the most expensive player ever in the history of the league.
Starting this edition on a slow note, Siddharth picked up his performances after the hype around his price tag started affecting him less. He then produced a few match-winning performances and helped his team remain in contention for the playoffs.
Although Siddharth did not deliver all that was expected of him, he was decent this season; contributing 220 points to his team's tally. Based on this achievement, Telugu Titans have spent ₹0.66 lakh on each point that Siddharth has managed to collect this season.
