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What's the story?
The Pro Kabaddi League's continuous growth was yet again quantified as the Haryana Steelers broke the bank to secure the services of talismanic raider Monu Goyat, who was bought for a whopping sum of Rs 151 lakh, quashing the previous highest record held by Rahul Chaudhari, who was bought for Rs 129 lakh by the Telugu Titans only a couple of minutes prior.
With the bid of Rs 151 lakhs (or Rs 1.51 crore), Monu Goyat also eclipsed the record for the highest contract held by a non-cricket Indian athlete in a franchise-based sport in the country, a record that was earlier held by Sunil Chhetri when he signed for Bengaluru FC for a then-record amount of Rs 150 lakh rupees (or Rs 1.50 crore).
In case you didn't know...
The skipper of the Indian football team, Chhetri has been a part of Bengaluru FC since the inception of the club, in 2013, when the Blues played in the I-League. Having moved to the cash-rich ISL, however, Chhetri found himself holding the record with a contract worth Rs 1.50 crore.
Interestingly, both Bengaluru FC and Haryana Steelers are owned by JSW Sports.
The heart of the Matter
Monu Goyat, at the back of impressive performances at the national level and in the Pro Kabaddi League last season, was picked by the Patna Pirates ahead of the fourth season and since then, the Services raider has impressed with 265 points from 39 matches. Although he played under the shadows of Pardeep Narwal in the previous season, Monu managed to amass 202 points from 26 matches, which made him one to watch out for in the auctions.
One of the final names to come out of the bag, Monu's sensational performance last season translated into a higher demand as four teams battled hard to procure his services. U Mumba started off with the opening bid and within a matter of seconds, the bid was raised to over Rs 100 lakh (Rs 1 crore).
Haryana Steelers broke the previously held record of Rs 129 lakh with a Rs 130 lakh bid that soon escalated to Rs 150 crore until the Steelers finally won the bid at Rs 151 lakh and soaked in the vociferous applause that went across the room.
What's Next?
Following an exciting opening day of the Pro Kabaddi League auctions that witnessed six players crossing the Rs 1 crore mark, the second day will play host to the B, C and D category players, who will be vital to form the perfect composition of the franchises.
Despite churning in great performances for Patna last season, Monu was overshadowed by Pardeep Narwal. However, it will now be interesting to see whether he can live up to the billing of his massive price tag.
How do you think Mohu Goyat will fare this season? Let us know in the comments section.
