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PKL Auction 2021 will begin this Sunday, with more than 450 players going under the hammer to get a chance in the eighth edition of the league. The three-day event will take place from 29th to 31st August in Mumbai, where all 12 franchises will look to rebuild their squad for PKL 8.
Some of the big names like Pardeep Narwal, Siddharth Desai, Deepak Niwas Hooda, Rohit Kumar, Baldev Singh, Ravinder Pahal, Dharmaraj Cheralathan, Ajay Thakur, Rahul Chaudhari, PO Surjeet Singh, Vishal Bhardwaj, Rishank Devadiga, Sandeep Narwal and Monu Goyat will be available in the pool.
Over the years, a few Indian and overseas players have walked away with huge sums after starting a bidding war at the PKL Auction.
With PKL Auction 2021 right around the corner, here's a recap of the most expensive players from each of the seven PKL seasons thus far.
PKL 1: Rakesh Kumar (₹12.8 lakh)
Former Indian captain Rakesh Kumar was bought by the Patna Pirates in the inaugural season of the PKL in 2014, fetching a sum of ₹12.80 lakh. It was no surprise that he became the costliest purchase at the first-ever PKL auction because he had been a World Cup winner and a 3-time Asian Games gold medalist.
The legendary all-rounder captained the Patna Pirates and helped them qualify for the semi-finals of PKL 1. Although the team couldn't win the trophy under his captaincy, he scored 99 valuable points for the Pirates in that edition. Rakesh went on to represent U Mumba and Telugu Titans before announcing his retirement from the sport in PKL 6.
PKL 2: Hadi Oshtorak (₹21.1 lakh )
PKL 2 saw 14 international players getting signed out of 27 players listed from around 13 countries. Iranian Hadi Oshtorak fetched ₹21.1 lakh in the auction, making him the highest-priced player of PKL 2 for the Telugu Titans. Hadi's teammate Meraj Sheykh got picked by the same franchise as the second-biggest purchase for ₹20.1 lakh.
However, the Telugu Titans' investment in Hadi Oshtorak didn't pay off as the all-rounder could only play four matches in the second season. Oshtorak only managed to score seven tackle points as the Telugu Titans were eliminated in the semi-finals.
PKL 3: Hadi Oshtorak (draft)
PKL 3 saw players getting drafted as teams switched their players among each other from the squads of Season 2. A total of 20 players changed teams, while some of the star players like Anup Kumar (U Mumba), Rahul Chaudhari (Telugu Titans), and Jang Kun Lee (Bengal Warriors) stayed with their respective franchises.
Hadi Oshtorak moved to the Patna Pirates in the draft, where he was part of the title-winning squad in seasons 3 and 4. The Iranian played for U Mumba and Gujarat Giants in the later editions and came back to Patna Pirates for PKL 7.
PKL 4: Mohit Chhillar (₹53 lakh)
The right-corner defender Mohit Chhillar was in sublime form during his three seasons with U Mumba. His contribution to the franchise brought him an opportunity to be sold to the Bengaluru Bulls for ₹53 lakh. It was the first time in PKL that a player received a bid of more than 50 lakh in the auction.
The 28-year-old did justify his price tag with 47 tackle points in 14 matches at an average of 3.14. Although the Bengaluru Bulls couldn't make it to the knockouts, Mohit Chhillar's performance was remarkable due to his rock-solid dashes and holds.
Mohit Chhillar then represented the Haryana Steelers, Jaipur Pink Panthers and Tamil Thalaivas in the next three seasons.
PKL 5: Nitin Tomar (₹93 lakh)
The Pro Kabaddi League expanded to 12 teams in season 5, where four new franchises were added to the competition. The price of the most expensive player was almost doubled, as UP Yoddha roped in Nitin Tomar for ₹93 lakh.
The left raider repaid the faith shown in him and evolved into a composed leader for the side in their debut season. Tomar scored 167 raid points with seven Super-10s and took the team to the playoffs in their debut season.
Although UP Yoddha couldn't proceed far in PKL 5, Nitin Tomar's performance that season was truly remarkable. He went on to play for Puneri Paltan in the next two seasons.
PKL 6: Monu Goyat (₹1.51 crore)
Courtesy of his brilliant performance in PKL 5, an intense three-way bidding war between Dabang Delhi, U Mumba and Haryana Steelers saw Monu Goyat's price hit the roof in the auction of season 6. Monu Goyat became the most expensive player in PKL history when the Steelers broke the bank for him by getting him for a whopping ₹1.51 crore.
Although the Bhiwani-born raider did not set the stage alight with his performances, he had a decent campaign with 160 raid points to his name. The Steelers failed to qualify for the playoffs that season due to injury woes, but Monu Goyat did show a lot of potential as a captain.
However, Goyat suffered from injuries time and again and had a disappointing campaign for UP Yoddha in season 7.
PKL 7: Siddharth Desai (₹1.45 crore)
Siddharth Desai arrived in the PKL in style when he scored 218 raid points in his debut season at PKL 6. He turned out to be the most sought-after player at PKL Auction 2019, and the Telugu Titans made the winning bid of ₹1.45 crore to sign the Maharashtra-born raider.
Desai showed his impact as a top-flight raider again with 217 raid points for the Telugu Titans. He asserted his dominance as the fourth-best raider of PKL 7 with 10 Super-10s at an average of 9.86 per game.
Surprisingly, the Telugu Titans released the talismanic raider ahead of the PKL 8. He is expected to be one of the top picks at PKL Auction 2021.
