Star rainder Pawan Kumar Sehrawat made history of sorts as he emerged as the most expensive buy on Day 1 of the Pro Kabaddi League (PKL) Season 9 Player Auctions held in Mumbai on Friday, August 5. Guman Singh emerged as the most expensive Category B player, being bought for a whopping Rs 1.21 crore by U Mumba. This Player Auction also witnessed a jump in the 1 crore club from two players in the last Player Auction to four players. Pardeep Narwal and Siddharth Desai were part of the 1 crore club last time, while Pawan Kumar Sehrawat, Vikash Khandola, Fazel Atrachali and Guman Singh were part of the 1 crore club in Friday's Player Auction.
A total of 30 players were sold to the 12 franchise teams with as many as 4 Final Bid Match (FBM) cards being used on Day 1. The auction witnessed teams spend Rs 18.11 Cr on Day 1, across the various categories of players being auctioned.
History is made at the @ProKabaddi players auction. A new record bid of 2.26cr for Pawan Sehrawat! When we started the league we never dreamed we would be able to bring such fame & fortune so soon to players of India's very own game.. https://t.co/zfnwoiVtec
— anand mahindra (@anandmahindra) August 5, 2022
PKL stars continue to dominate
The highlight of the auction was Pawan Kumar Sehrawat smashing the all-time record after he was bought by Tamil Thalaivas for a whopping sum of Res 2.26 crore. Meanwhile, Vikash Khandola found a new home in Bengaluru Bulls after he was bought for Rs 1.70 crore (a record he held till Pawan Kumar Sehrawat was bid). The raider became the second most expensive buy ever in the Pro Kabaddi League Player Auction history. Pardeep Narwal returned to the UP Yoddha side after the franchisee used the Final Bid Match (FBM) Card at Rs 90 lakh.
Iranians in demand
The Iranian kabaddi legend Fazel Atrachali broke the record for the most expensive defender and overseas player ever after being acquired by Puneri Paltan for Rs 1.38Cr. Atrachali held both the records previously when he was picked by U Mumba for Rs 1 crore in the 2018 vivo Pro Kabaddi League Player Auction. While his compatriot, Mohammad Esmaeil Nabibakgsh (F) was acquired by Puneri Paltan for Rs 87 lakh.
