New Delhi: Mohammadreza Shadloui made history at the start after Season 11’s Most Valuable Player was picked up for Rs 2.23 crore in the opening bid of the night by Gujarat Giants for Pro Kabaddi League (PKL).
The double Pro Kabaddi League (PKL) title holder is the first player to be auctioned for over Rs two crore three times in PKL history, as per a statement from PKL.
The other leading player to breach the Rs 2-crore mark was the Best Raider of PKL 11, Devank Dalal. Having led the Patna Pirates line during their final appearance in the previous season, Devank was ultimately purchased by Bengal Warriorz for 2.205 crores, becoming the fifth-most valuable player in the PKL Player Auction.
A new feature of the PKL 12 Player Auction is the newly introduced Final Bid Match (FBM) rule, where teams have an option to recruit back their released players by matching the last auction bid price for one or two seasons.
Dabang Delhi K.C. employed this FBM rule to bring back their marquee raider Ashu Malik into the team on an amount of INR 1.90 crores for the following two seasons.
The next highest offers from Category A were Arjun Deshwal, and Tamil Thalaivas signed him for Rs 1.405 crore, while Yogesh Dahiya will play for Bengaluru Bulls having been signed for Rs1.125 crore.
“The PKL 12 Player Auction for Category A shows how performance plays a key role, with Shadloui and Devank being rewarded with exceptional bids of over Rs 2 Crore. We also saw five Crorepatis in this Category, and the new two-season FBM rule is making an impact after being used by Patna Pirates and then Dabang Delhi K.C. This sets the stage for the rest of the Categories as the franchises build their squads for another season of exciting kabaddi action,” said Anupam Goswami, Business Head, Mashal Sports & League Chairman, Pro Kabaddi League.
All the buys from PKL 12 Player Auction Category A:
Mohammadreza Shadloui Chiyaneh – 2.23 Cr – Gujarat Giants (fourth most expensive ever)
Fazel Atrachali -30 Lakhs -Dabang Delhi Kc
Pawan Sehrawat – 59.5 Lakhs – Tamil Thalaivas
Bharat Hooda – 81 Lakhs – Telugu Titans
Vijay Malik – 51.5 Lakhs – Telugu Titans via one-season FBM
Shubham Shinde – 80 Lakhs – Telugu Titans
Ankush – 30 Lakhs – Bengaluru Bulls
Deepak Rajender Singh-86 Lakhs-Patna Pirates via two-SESON FBM
Yogesh Dahaya – 1.125 CROES – Bengaluru Bulls
Ashu Malik – 1.90 Crores – Dabang Delhi K.C. via two-season FBM
Arjun Deshwal – 1.405 CRORES – Tamil Thalaivas
Devank Dalal – 2.205 Crores – Bengal Warriorz (Fifth most expensive player).
