Talismanic raider Pardeep Narwal smashed an all-time record by becoming the highest-ever bought kabaddi player in the history of the Pro Kabaddi League (PKL), after being bought by the 'U.P. Yoddha' for ₹1.65 crore.
The 'U.P. Yoddha' bought Narwal on Monday, the second day of the PKL auction for the upcoming season 8, which will take place in December.
“Pardeep continues to re-write history books, with his price tag now quashing that of another star raider Monu Goyat, who was bought by the 'Haryana Steelers' for ₹1.51 crore in Season 6,” stated a media release issued by the PKL late Monday night.
Narwal now finds himself a new home after spending five seasons with the 'Patna Pirates'.
Meanwhile, Siddharth Desai was retained by the 'Telugu Titans' via the Final Bid Match (FBM) card for ₹1.30 crore from his base price of ₹30 lakh.
More than 22 overseas players were sold on the second day.
All-rounder Mohammadreza Shadloui Chiyaneh (base price ₹10 lakh), was sold to the 'Patna Pirates' for ₹31 lakh, while the 'Bengal Warriors' bought defender Abozar Mohajermighani, bidding for him at ₹30.5 lakh from the base price of ₹20 lakh.
The 'Patna Pirates' used their FBM card to retain South Korean raider Jang Kun Lee at ₹20.5 lakh, the release said.
After spending six seasons with the 'Telugu Titans' and one season with 'Tamil Thalaivas', Rahul Chaudhari will now play for the 'Puneri Paltans'.
The 'Jaipur Pink Panthers' used both the FBM cards to retain captain Deepak Niwas Hooda and Sandeep Kumar Dhull.
The 'Tamil Thalaivas' bid for raider Manjeet from his base price of ₹30 lakh and bought him in for ₹92 lakh.
Meanwhile, all-rounder Rohit Gulia grabbed eyeballs after he was sold to the 'Haryana Steelers' for ₹83 lakh, a significant jump from his ₹25-lakh price tag with the 'Gujarat Giants' in Season 7.
“Kabaddi is such an elementary game in terms of infrastructure required, that I have no doubt that once we get our act together, the explosion of kabaddi internationally is just waiting to happen,” Charu Sharma, co-founder of Mashal Sports, was quoted as saying in the release.
