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The Pro Kabaddi League Season 6 Auction drew to a conclusion after a two-day affair in Mumbai as the twelves franchises assembled their squads with a purse of four crores available for use to them.
Although the amount of four crores was available, not all the franchises spent heavily and exercised caution as well as employed strategy during their bidding while building the team for the upcoming season of the PKL.
We take a look at the five franchises who spent the least amount of money during the auction as their squads shaped up for the league which will begin in the month of October.
1. Bengaluru Bulls - ₹360.8 lakhs
Bengaluru Bulls came into the auction having retained their star raider Rohit Kumar for a massive amount of ₹89.1 lakhs and further added youngsters Harish Naik, Amit Sheoran and Sumit Singh to the retention list on the first day of the auction.
The Bulls' management was quite calculative in their approach to build the final squad as they used their monies wisely. They got perhaps one of the best bargain buys of the PKL Auction when they acquired Kashiling Adake at a fee of ₹32 lakhs, which seems quite less considering the former Dabang Delhi and U Mumba man has been consistently one of the top performing raiders in PKL history.
Bengaluru Bulls utilized their Final Bid Match (FBM) card for their former players - all-rounder Ashish Kumar Sangwan (₹23.5 lakhs) and defender Mahender Singh (₹40 lakhs). They bought quite a number of players from the Category C Domestic players with most at the base price of ₹8 lakhs. The only exception to this was the winning bid of Pawan Kumar Sehrawat, who cost them ₹52.8 lakhs.
2. Tamil Thalaivas - ₹373.23 lakhs
The franchise that made their debut in the Pro Kabaddi League last year were one of the frugal spenders in the auction over the two days.
The Sachin Tendulkar co-owned franchise had retained the trio of Ajay Thakur (₹76.23 lakhs), C Arun (₹36.3 lakhs) and Amit Hooda (₹69.3 lakhs) before the auction forming the core for the side for the season. These buys made them a few crores short at the auction but this contributed to their strategy in the auction proceedings.
Thalaivas did not spend over ₹30 lakhs for any of their remaining buys as they acquired a host of players at their base prices with some smart additions. The best bargain buy made by the Tamil Thalaivas was Manjeet Chillar (₹20 lakhs) who brings with him a wealth of experience and leadership quality.
The addition of PKL regulars like Sukesh Hegde (₹28 lakhs), Surjeet Singh (₹12 lakhs) and Jasvir Singh (12 Lakhs) further bolstered the side giving them a good mix of experience in their ranks.
3. Gujarat Fortunegiants - ₹373.74 lakhs
Gujarat Fortunegiants were the most impressive debuting franchise last season as they reached all the way to the final losing out to Patna Pirates.
The Fortunegiants retained three of their crucial performers from the last season - the ever-lethal Sachin Tanwar (₹56.87 lakhs), Sunil Kumar (₹49.1 lakhs) and Mahendra Rajput (₹24.55 lakhs).
The Gautam Adani-owned franchise built their squad smartly with a good mix of cheap and expensive buys as they assembled a well-balanced team. K Prapanjan (₹38 lakhs), Ajay Kumar (₹25 lakhs) and Ruturaj Koravi (₹30.4 lakhs) were their standout buys as they aim to improvise their results from the last season.
Parvesh Bhainswal (₹35 lakhs) was acquired by using the FBM option as Gujarat Fortunegiants set the stage for a good showing under coach Manpreet Singh this time around as well.
4. Bengal Warriors - ₹379.62 lakhs
Bengal Warriors had a good Season 5 of the Pro Kabaddi League as they topped their Zone and almost reached the final losing out to eventual winners Patna Pirates in the second qualifier.
The Warriors retained their top performers - Defender Surjeet Singh (₹80.3 lakhs) and Raider Maninder Singh (₹56.87 lakhs) before the auction. They used the Final Bid Match cards to retain South Korean raider Jang Kun Lee (₹33 lakhs) and defender Ran Singh (₹43 lakhs) ensuring the core of the side remained intact.
They further added Shrikant Tewthia (₹25 lakhs), Mahesh Goud (₹12 lakhs) and Bangladeshi defender Ziaur Rehman (₹33.25 lakhs) to their ranks to build a formidable side at a good cost. Most of their remaining squad was acquired at the base price in the auction.
5. Patna Pirates - ₹380 lakhs
The most successful franchise in the Pro Kabaddi League with a three-peat of championships over the last three years came into the auction with four retained players - the MVP of last season Pardeep Narwal (₹60.5 lakhs), Jaideep (₹55 lakhs), Jawahar Dagar (₹13.2 lakhs) and Manish (₹29.05 lakhs).
Patna Pirates were setback by the loss of their raider Monu Goyat for the record price of ₹151 lakhs to the Haryana Steelers but they acquired Deepak Narwal at ₹57 lakhs to cover that position. Tushar Patil (₹20 lakhs), Manjeet (₹20.4 lakhs) Surender Singh (₹12.25 lakhs), Kuldeep Singh (₹22 lakhs) and Vikas Kale (₹27.4 lakhs) were the other major buys as the Pirates managed to assemble a good squad around their star man Pardeep at a reasonable cost.
Smart investments can result in great returns...which of these franchises will get the best value for money from their players? Let us know in the comments below.
