Pro Kabaddi League: Experience is the watchword for Tamil Thalaivas

The Sachin Tendulkar co-owned franchise invested Rs 12 lakh each on raiders Jasvir Singh and CPO Surjeet Singh during the morning session. The acquisition meant Manjeet Chhillar and Jasvir Singh will join forces once again as they had represented Jaipur Pink Panthers in the last season. Atul MS, who was drafted into the player pool just before the auction, was added for Rs 9.2 lakh. 

Young player Vimal Raj was purchased for the base price of Rs 5 lakh. After picking up 15 players, TT later bought defender D Gopu, who went unsold earlier, for Rs 8 lakh in the second session. Kerala raider K Jayaseelan was brought to the roster for Rs 12 lakh. 

Thalaivas then spent Rs 8 lakh on 29-year-old Abhinandan Chandel. After packing the side with youngsters in PKL 5, which was not successful, Thalaivas went after senior guys at the auction. With Ajay Thakur, Manjeet, Jasvir, Sukesh Hegde and Amit Hooda all part of the squad, there is plenty of experience and the 

fans can hope for a turnaround this time around. 

“Last year, there were so many youngsters in the squad. We were planning to pick only 18 players. My aim was to bring some experience in to it. We have the right blend of youth and experience I believe,” said head coach Edachery Bhaskaran after the auction. Youngsters C Arun, Darshan, South Korean Chan Sik Park lend the much-needed balance to the squad.  

The Tamil Nadu players had a mixed day with some going for decent prices while others remained unsold. Chandran Ranjit was the highest earner as he was bought by Dabang Delhi for an impressive sum of Rs 61.25 lakh. Veteran defender Dharmaraj Cheralathan will shift his allegiance from Pune to Mumbai after he was recruited by the season two title-holder. He was sold for a price of Rs 46 lakh. 

Former DD player R Sriram will don the orange jersey of U Mumba, having been obtained for the base price of Rs 12 lakh. 

Rajaguru Subramanian will be another TN player in its squad. K Selvamani, who attracted serious bids from franchises in the last season, was not a favourite this time as he was picked up for just Rs 15 lakh by Jaipur Pink Panthers using the “Final Bid Match” option. Prashanth Kumar top bid on second day of PKL 6 Auction.

Prasanth sold for Rs 79 lakh 

Prashanth Kumar Rai was the highest-paid player on the second day of the Pro Kabaddi League Season 6 Auction. The Karnataka based raider was snapped up by UP Yoddha for Rs 79 lakh.

After an initial bidding battle between Dabang Delhi and Tamil Thalaivas, Bengaluru Bulls joined the pack at Rs 57.5 lakh in a bid to rope in the raider. But UP Yoddha, which came into the contest only at Rs 61.5 lakh, had the final say and picked him up. Tamil Nadu’s Chandran Ranjit earned the second biggest amount of the day as he was acquired by Meraj Sheykh-led Dabang Delhi. 

Tamil Thalaivas was in the hunt until the 50 lakh mark but the capital side managed to obtain the former Gujarat Fortunegiants man. Delhi was aggressive in its intent again as Vikash Khandola was sold for Rs 47 lakh but Haryana Steelers exercised its second “Final Bid Match” option on him. It had used its first for Category A defender Surender Nada. 

Category C raider Pawan Kumar was bought by Bengaluru Bulls for Rs 52.8 lakh. Pawan, who had a base price of Rs 8 lakh, was sold for more than six times his basic amount. In the Category B defenders, Dharmaraj Cheralathan and Vishal Mane attracted significantly higher bids in comparison to the rest. 

Cheralathan, who was with Puneri Paltan in the previous edition, was bought for Rs 46 lakh. With Fazel Atrachali at left corner and Cheralathan likely to fill in at the right corner position, the combination could be one of the deadliest come season six. 

Maharashtra’s Vishal Mane was purchased by Delhi for Rs 45 lakh. Joginder Singh Narwal from Haryana was also picked up by the GMR groupowned franchise. U Mumba spent lavishly on Category C raiders Siddharth Singh Desai and Abhishek Singh. Both we sold to the Mumbai franchise for Rs 36.4 lakh and Rs 42.8 lakh.