The three-day auction for Season 8 of the Pro Kabaddi League (PKL 8), which is scheduled to begin in December 2021, saw the 12 teams spend a combined Rs. 48.22 crore on over 190 players.
Here are the biggest winners and losers from the PKL 2021 auction, in terms of increase or decrease in their bids with respect to the previous edition (unless stated otherwise):
(All figures in INR)
- PKL 2021 auction: Full list of players bought, sold and retained
Winners
Sandeep Kandola (Defender, bought by Telugu Titans)
Kandola returns to PKL after his one and only season -- in the second edition of the league in 2015 -- when he also played for the Telugu Titans. In that season, Kandola had the most successful tackles and his 59 tackle points were second only to Ravinder Pahal's 59. Kandola's bid is the highest for a Category C domestic player this time.
Season 7 bid: Did Not Play (DNP)
Base price: 10 lakh
Season 8 bid: 59.50 lakh
Increase (compared to base price): 495%
Pardeep Narwal (Raider, Patna Pirates to UP Yoddha)
The highest-scoring raider in PKL history, released by the Patna Pirates after five seasons that yielded three consecutive titles, Narwal was expected to be the biggest name at the auction and that's exactly how it turned out. Narwal's presence, the support raider abilities of Shrikant Jadhav and an already formidable defence make UP Yoddha the team to watch out for in Season 8.
Season 7 bid: Not specified (retained player)
Base price: 30 lakh
Season 8 bid: 1.65 crore
Increase (compared to base price): 450.0%
Arjun Deshwal (Raider, U Mumba to Jaipur Pink Panthers)
In Season 7, Deshwal was one of several players to chip in with fairly consistent performances in a U Mumba team that did not have any big-name raiders, with the exception of Sandeep Narwal. Deshwal's 106 points from 19 matches was nothing spectacular, but it was still a massive improvement from Season 6, enough to catch the Jaipur Pink Panthers' attention.
Season 7 bid: Not specified (retained player)
Base price: 20 lakh
Season 8 bid: 96 lakh
Increase (compared to base price): 380.0%
Sachin Tanwar (Raider, Gujarat Giants to Patna Pirates)
Winner of the best debutant award in Season 5, Tanwar improved by leaps and bounds in Season 6. However, a relatively poor showing in Season 7 led to Gujarat Giants releasing him ahead of the auction. Still, his performances were enough to merit a big investment by the Patna Pirates, where he and Monu Goyat will be expected to plug a big, Pardeep Narwal-sized hole.
Season 7 bid: Not specified (retained player)
Base price: 30 lakh
Season 8 bid: 84 lakh
Increase (compared to base price): 180.0%
Rohit Gulia (All-rounder, Gujarat Giants to Haryana Steelers)
Although Gulia had a decent showing in Season 7, he was released by Gujarat prior to the auction, presumably because his captaincy midway through the season did not help the side in making the playoffs. Still, his 142-point showing in Season 7, second best among the all-rounders, was enough to convince Haryana Steelers to shell out the big bucks.
Season 7 bid: Not specified (retained player)
Base price: 30 lakh
Season 8 bid: 83 lakh
Increase (compared to base price): 176.0%
Notable mentions:
All-rounder Brijendra Singh Chaudhary was bought by Jaipur Pink Panthers for 5.6 lakh in Season 6. He didn't play Season 7, but returns for Season 8 after Haryana Steelers paid 55 lakh for him, a 450% increase over his base price of 10 lakh.
All-rounder Mohammadreza Shadloui Chiyaneh from Iran is the most expensive overseas player this time, the Patna Pirates paying 31 lakh, an increase of 210% over his base price of 10 lakh.
Losers
Monu Goyat (Raider, UP Yoddha to Patna Pirates)
Goyat returns to Patna Pirates, who won their third straight PKL title in Season 5 thanks to Goyat's abilities as a support raider. Goyat returns after two seasons away from the team, but his stock has dropped along the way. In Season 6, he was bought for 1.51 crore, then the highest-ever bid in PKL history, by Haryana Steelers. In Season 7, he was bought by UP Yoddha for 93 lakh.
Season 7 bid: 93 lakh
Base price: 20 lakh
Season 8 bid: 20 lakh
Decrease: 78.5%
Rishank Devadiga (Raider, UP Yoddha to Bengal Warriors)
Devadiga had a great first season with UP Yoddha in Season 5 and has helped take them into the playoffs in all his three seasons with the team. However, after relatively poor overall performances in the last two editions, the team opted to release him.
Season 7 bid: 61 lakh
Base price: 20 lakh
Season 8 bid: 20 lakh
Decrease: 67.2%
Rahul Chaudhari (Raider, Tamil Thalaivas to Puneri Paltan)
Chaudhari is second on the all-time PKL scoring list, only behind Pardeep Narwal. Chaudhari, who spent six seasons with the Telugu Titans, has been fairly consistent over the years, but his raiding has been less and less impactful in recent seasons. After the Thalaivas finished bottom of the table in Season 7, they opted to clean out their squad.
Season 7 bid: 94 lakh
Base price: 30 lakh
Season 8 bid: 40 lakh
Decrease: 57.5%
Nitin Tomar (Raider, retained by Puneri Paltan)
Tomar was the most expensive buy at the auction for Season 5 in 2017. He only rose in value the next two auctions, his bid of 1.2 crore the second-highest in Season 7. However, he has been unable to repeat the form he showed in Season 5, partly due to injury, and the Puneri Paltan released him this time before retaining his services for a little over half the price.
Season 7 bid: 1.2 crore
Base price: 20 lakh
Season 8 bid: 61 lakh
Decrease: 49.2%
Siddharth Desai (Raider, retained by Telugu Titans)
As one of only two players to receive a bid of over one crore, Siddharth Desai did not have a poor auction by any means. His Season 7 stats were almost identical to his stats in Season 6, when he made his PKL debut with U Mumba. However, from a purely mathematical perspective, he has dropped in value. The Titans released him ahead of the auction and then retained him using the Final Bid Match (FBM) card.
Season 7 bid: 1.45 crore
Base price: 30 lakh
Season 8 bid: 1.3 crore
Decrease: 10.3%
Notable mention:
Deepak Niwas Hooda was retained by Jaipur Pink Panthers ahead of the Season 7 auction, so his bid for that year is not specified. But given he was bought by the team for 1.15 crore in Season 6, it appears his stock has fallen as well. The raider was bought back by Jaipur for 55 lakh.