India’s Pawan Sehrawat set the record of being the costliest player at Pro Kabaddi League for the second consecutive year after he was picked by Telugu Titans for whopping Rs 2.60 crore at the auctions.
A total of 595 players are up for auction this year.
Sehrawat was picked up by Tamil Thalaivas for Rs 2.26 crore in season nine auctions. On Monday, Haryana Steelers, UP Yoddhas, Telugu Titans and Bengaluru Bulls were engaged in a bidding war for Sehrawat, who played a vital role in India’s victory over Iran in the Asian Games final as the team clinched the gold medal.
But before the Indian reclaimed the record on the first of the two-day auction here, Iran’s Mohammadreza Shadloui Chiyaneh had emerged as the costliest after he was bought for Rs 2.35 crore by Puneri Paltan in category A.
India’s Maninder Singh was also among high demand as he was roped in by Bengal Warriors for Rs 2.12 crore.
A total of 137 matches will be played in the 10th edition of PKL. As many as 132 league stage matches will be followed by the playoff comprising five matches — two eliminators, two semifinals and the final.
The base price in category A was Rs 30 lakh, category B was Rs 20 lakh whereas in categories C and D, the base prices were placed at Rs 13 lakh and Rs 9 lakh respectively.
For Iran captain Shadloui (all-rounder), whose latest appearance was in the Asian Games final against gold medal winners India, there was intense bidding right at the start which also reset the record of costliest player — for both Indian and overseas.
U Mumba and Gujarat Giants began the bidding and were soon joined by Puneri Paltan and Telugu Titans. The Iranian was eventually picked up by Puneri Paltan for Rs 2.35 crore as Patna Pirates, his former team, did not exercise their right of Final Bid Match (FBM).
“We needed someone on the left. We came with the mindset of picking him up at the auctions,” Puneri Paltan coach BC Ramesh told the media.
In the Pro Kabaddi League auction, Gujarat Giants secured Fazal Atrachali for a record-breaking bid of Rs 1.60 crore, making him the costliest defender in the tournament’s history.
