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A total of 422 players, including 58 overseas players, went under the hammer during the two-day auction. 87 players from the Future Heroes Kabaddi programme were also up for bidding.
Monu Goyat was bought for an unbelievable amount of Rs. 151 lakh, and got all the limelight on the first day as he became the most expensive player in PKL history. The Patna Pirates' owners spent openly in the auction, spending a total of Rs. 380 Lakhs to acquire the 18-player squad.
The Bihar-based team is certainly amongst the most popular teams in the Pro Kabaddi League, and why won't they be - being the three-times champions. What's more is that they won the title consecutively and have a great momentum going with them.
The holding champions have always been a force to reckon with and it would be no different this time around as they have picked up a formidable squad.
Pardeep Narwal - the star raider, who has also been the captain for the Pirates and was pivotal to their success in the previous three seasons, was retained by them for a price of Rs. 60.5 lakhs. He is sure to be instrumental for the team once again.
Some fierce bidding was done by the Pirates to also get hold of another effective raider, Deepak Narwal for Rs. 57 lakhs.
The Green and Yellow's have always been careful during the bidding process, trying to create a balanced squad, and not just splurging a crore of rupees (like the other teams) on raiders, ensuring that they get a good mix of defenders and all-rounders as well.
The Pirates retained two of their most crucial defenders, Jaideep for Rs. 55 Lakh and Manish for Rs. 29.05 lakh, respectively. Kuldeep Singh, a terrific all-rounder, has also been retained by them.
Here is the brand new squad which will be seen in Patna Pirates' colours this season:
Raiders:
Pardeep Narwal [Retained] - ₹60.5 lakh
Deepak Narwal - ₹57 lakh
Manjeet - ₹20.4 lakh
Tushar Patil - ₹20 lakh
Jawahar [Retained] - ₹13.2 lakh
Surender Singh - ₹12.25 lakh
Vikas Jaglan - ₹8 lakh
Defenders:
Jaideep [Retained] - ₹55 lakh
Manish [Retained] - ₹29.05 lakh
Vikas Kale - ₹27.4 lakhs
Vijay Kumar - ₹8 lakh
Ravinder Kumar - ₹8 lakh
All-rounders:
Kuldeep Singh [Retained] - ₹22 lakh
Vijay [NYP] - ₹6.6 lakh
Taedok Eom - ₹11.4 lakh
Hyunil Park - ₹8 lakh
Arvind Kumar [NYP] - ₹6.6 lakh
Parveen Birwal [NYP] - ₹6.6 lakh
Can the Patna Pirates continue their domination over the league this season as well? Sound off in the comments section below!
