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The festival for every kabaddi fan around the world, i.e., Pro Kabaddi League is all set to commence from the 19th of July, 2019. However, auctions being a crucial aspect of the game will take place on the 8th and 9th of April, where a total of 442 players will go under the gravel.
Ecstasy is in the air and if we sit back and reiterate the season 6 auction, which took place on the 30th and 31st of May last year, the level of expectation is insane.
Let me refresh your memory a bit. Monu Goyat, bought by Haryana Steelers last season, became the priciest non-cricketing player after bagging a whopping ₹151 lakhs.
We saw players like Rahul Chaudhari, Rishank Devadiga, Deepak Hooda and Nitin Tomar turn into overnight crorepatis. Even Fazel Atrachali became the costliest foreign player after U Mumba sealed the deal by buying him for a leviathan total of ₹100 lakhs.
Massive players not retained
Shockingly enough, for the seventh season, players like Siddharth Desai, Rahul Chaudhari, Nitin Tomar, Rishank Devadiga and Monu Goyat were not retained by their franchises. What was their strategy? Well, we don't know.
Final Bid Match Rule
Nonetheless, PKL introduced the Final Bid Match Rule last season, which enabled a team to bring back its prior season's player, once some other team's bid for that particular player has been accepted.
Elaborating the whole scenario, the team using the FBM card will be paying the final amount for which the player got sold. The number of FBM cards in each teams' bag will depend on the number of elite players retained.
Now, the number of FBM cards to be used by a team depends on the number of elite retained players. A team was allowed to retain six Elite Players this season. A team with five ERP will get one FBM card.
However, any team with four or less will get two FBM's to use. Also, any team with six ERP's won't be getting any FBM.
Now, keeping the approaching auctions in mind, let us now see the list of top players who can be bought by their corresponding franchise:
#12 Patna Pirates - Deepak Narwal / Manjeet
The sixth season was the most amateurish one for the three-time champions Patna Pirates. It is safe to say that pretty much everything went wrong for them.
Pardeep Narwal tried his best to keep the Pirate ship floating but with no luck. Retaining this prodigy is the best move made by the team. The management also retained Vikas Jaglan and Jawahar Dagar.
Covering up the blunders, the grey-eyed youngster Manjeet did everything and pitched in points whenever required. Using the FBM card on this player will surely benefit the team.
Furthermore, there was a noticeable absence of teamwork in the Pirates squad. Despite that, Deepak Narwal strived hard to keep up the pace with Pardeep and help him. Patna has the choice to bring him back through FBM.
#11 U Mumba - Siddharth Desai / Rohit Baliyan
U Mumba, who had one of the best teams last season, failed to qualify for the eliminators as the UP Yoddha snatched victory from their hands.
A scarcity of experienced raiders was observed right after the auctions ended, but the young Mumba raiders shook us from the core once they displayed all their skills.
Siddharth Desai managed to grab the headlines just after his first match after he scored a Brobdingnag total of 15 points in his debut PKL match.
U Mumba not retaining him for season 7 was the biggest jolt for everyone. Well, FBM is the final chance for them to bring this mojo player back.
Brawny Rohit Baliyan exhibited a laudable game last season and scored 108 points in 19 matches, which is why U Mumba should consider using FBM card on him.
On the other note, U Mumba has retained the lethal Fazel Atrachali, Rajaguru Subramanium, and Arjun Deshwal.
#10 Telegu Titans - Rahul Chaudhari / Vishal Bhardwaj / Abozar Mighani
Telegu Titans' campaign last season was not so great. With plenty of mistakes, the players struggled throughout the season. Despite that, players like poster boy Rahul Chaudhari, Vishal Bhardwaj and Abozar Mighani left a mark.
Chaudhari became the first player to cross the 800-point mark. He also was the second most expensive player after Telegu used their FBM card and bought him for a hefty total of ₹129 lakhs.
The burly Abozar sent chills down the spines of the raiders with his muscly tackles. Team captain Vishal Bhardwaj also showed his wonderful skills on the mat.
Not retaining Rahul, despite his great efforts, can backstab the team. Well, they still have the opportunity to bring him, Vishal and Mighani back.
Elite players retained by Titans are Armaan, Farhad Milaghardan and Krushna Madane for the upcoming season.
#9 Tamil Thalaivas - Amit Hooda
Tamil Thalaivas had a horrendous season twice in a row. Having both Ajay and Manjeet created chaos, and strategies weren't implemented well. Arjuna Awardee Jasvir Singh also didn't add much importance to the matches.
Well, captain Ajay Thakur and Manjeet Chillar individually led the team nicely and did a praiseworthy job. Thakur was also honored with the glorious Padma Shri once the season ended.
One player who showed a top-class game was Amit Hooda, who was not retained by the Thalaivas' management. He was successful in keeping raiders like Pardeep Narwal at bay, which is a hard thing to achieve.
Leaving him for the auctions was unanticipated by any of us. Not to worry yet, FBM can come handy for Thalaivas when Hooda goes under the gravel. Tamil's management also retained Victor Onyango for the forthcoming season of PKL.
#8 Puneri Paltan - Sandeep Narwal / GB More / Girish Ernak / Nitin Tomar
Puneri Paltan, known for their cracking defence, failed to leave a mark last season. With just a few players trying to save the drowning squad, the team disappointed the fans.
Nitin Tomar was injured and missed many matches. In spite of that, GB More impressed everybody with his intricate and witty skills.
If you didn't know, Tomar was the costliest player of season 5 with ₹93 lakhs in his bag. Pune also paid him ₹115 lakhs in season 6.
Possibly one of the best players of Pune, Guru has the probability of being bought by the team's management using FBM, now that Anup Kumar will mentor the players as the head coach.
The forever agile Sandeep Narwal also did a marvelous job last season and initiated a crazy amount of super tackles. Team captain Girish Ernak also supported him wonderfully.
Not to forget mentioning, Pune has a new avatar and a new coach. It is a possibility that they might want to build the team from scratch.
#7 Jaipur Pink Panthers - Mohit Chillar
Abhishek Bachchan's Jaipur Pink Panthers was a mere disappointment last season. They ended up on the second last place in their group table and everything went wrong for them.
Deepak Hooda struggled throughout the season single-handedly trying to save his team. Almost every player failed to keep up with him, which was pretty depressing. Retaining Hooda was the best thing Jaipur did.
Mohit Chillar, known for his lethal game made some noticeable efforts to keep the team on tracks. Jaipur can consider using their FBM on him.
Also, Sandeep Dhull displayed a pretty impressive game last season. Retaining him was also a witty move by Jaipur's management.
#6 Gujarat Fortune Giants - Mahendra Rajput / Parvesh Bhainswal
Gujarat Fortune Giants, a team which has played all the finals of PKL, had a blast last season. The team was on fleek as the players did a top-class job.
Gujarat's decision to retain Sachin and Sunil Kumar is impeccable, as they were the two best players from the squad. Tits and bits of mistakes cost Gujarat the coveted trophy, but they honestly had the best team in the prior season.
Now, not to forget mentioning that many other players pitched in points which resulted in Giants qualifying for the finals. One of them was Mahendra Rajput, whose seven-pointer is engraved in our minds. How great was that?
The attacking defender Parvesh Bhainswal also produced a great game like he always does. GFG can consider using their FBM's on these players since they had contributed a lot in the past.
#5 Bengal Warriors - Surjeet Singh / Ran Singh
Bengal Warriors have been on fire since season 5 of the league. Despite barely missing their chances to enter the finals, they have impressed every fan out there.
Maninder Singh, one of the finest players ever, scooped in points like crazy for his team. Retaining him was the perfect thing to do. He did a resplendent job even after coming back from a long break.
Well, it was a surprise for everyone when Surjeet and Ran Singh did not get retained, despite showcasing a smooth game in the past season. Also, Jang Kun Lee's name was missing in the Elite Retained Players' list.
Bengal still can bring them back in the squad if they decide to use their Final Bid Match card for the players mentioned above. Well, we wish Bengal the best for the upcoming auctions.
#4 Bengaluru Bulls - Kashiling Adake / Mahender Singh
Bengaluru Bulls had the best season of their lives as they won the PKL trophy for the first time. In short, they had a blast last season.
Pawan Sehrawat and Rohit Kumar were the perfect catalysts for the team. With a deadly raider and a calm and collected captain, they legit Pawan'd their way to victory. Retaining these two prodigies was a no-brainer.
Bulls' management also retained Ashish Sangwan for season 7. Now, a team surely can't win without excellent teamwork. Players like Bulldozer Mahender Singh and Kashiling Adake also shone like Sirius, the brightest star in the sky.
The ERP list for Bengaluru has no glitches whatsoever but using FBM to bring back Mahender and Kashi would be a smart move by the team.
#3 Haryana Steelers - Monu Goyat
Haryana Steelers had an unfortunate season last year. Their trusted defender Surender Nada got injured in the very first match and was unable to play throughout the season.
Even Monu Goyat, despite being the costliest player in the history of PKL, was unable to turn the tables for his team, even after trying hard. They also ended up on the last position on their group table, which was doleful.
Many things went wrong for the team. Players were not able to tune in with each other and did not understand each other's games well. Team unity is extremely crucial for winning.
Haryana's team management retained Kuldeep Singh and Vikash Kandola for the approaching season. Still, we hope that Haryana Steelers will use their Final Bid Match card to bring Monu Goyat back to the new squad.
#2 UP Yoddhas - Rishank Devadiga / Shrikant Jadhav / Prashanth Kumar Rai
UP Yoddha last season rocked the mat last season. No one can forget the match when they defeated U Mumba to enter the qualifiers. That was beyond amazing!
Out of all the players, Shrikant Jadhav worked as the catalyst in the middle of the season when Rishank Devadiga was off duty and blew our minds. He played impeccably well and never failed to perform.
Even the crorepati Devadiga displayed a great game, like usual. One of the most polished players in the league, it was a great experience to see him thriving.
One just cannot forget how important the role of Prashanth Kumar Rai was. This lanky raider was Sureshot an MVP and did not fail to impress. Using FBM cards on any of the above-mentioned players will benefit the team.
#1 Dabang Delhi - Ravinder Pahal / Pawan Kadian / Chandran Ranjit
If you are an OG PKL fan, you must be well aware with the fact that Dabang Delhi never managed to fix their place even in the qualifiers, in the span of five long seasons.
Well, season 6 was the best one for them, as they not only qualified for the qualifiers but won every heart (seriously!). Honestly, it was beautiful to see them celebrating.
Undoubtedly, every player had a well-assigned task on the mat, which was well implemented by the players. Some players stood out of the rest. Naveen Kumar, the best find of PKL 6, was an epitome of brilliance.
The team made a witty choice by retaining Meraj Sheykh, Joginder Narwal, and Naveen Kumar. Now that we talk of FBM, players like Ravinder Pahal, Chandran Ranjit and Pawan Kadian are some great choices to consider.
