Pro Kabaddi League 2022 player auction to be held on August 5 in Mumbai

According to PKL organisers Mashal Sports, the Pro Kabaddi League Season 9 player auction is expected to attract more than 500 kabaddi contenders.

In order to attract more young players to compete in the famous competition, the organisers announced on Friday that 24 players from the top-two teams of the Khelo India University Games, 2021, will be included in the auction pool.

Domestic, Overseas, and New Young Players (NYPs) will be separated into four groups in the player auction: A, B, C, and D. Within each category, the players may be further subdivided as ‘All-Rounders,’ ‘Defenders,’ and ‘Raiders.’

Category A costs INR 30 lakhs, Category B costs INR 20 lakhs, Category C costs INR 10 lakhs, and Category D costs INR 6 lakhs. Each franchisee has a total Salary Purse of INR 4.4 crores for its team for Season 9.

Anupam Goswami, commissioner of the league, stated, “Every season has seen the emergence of new outstanding players, and I am confident that we will be pleasantly surprised this year as well. I’m looking forward to welcoming the Khelo India University Games’ youthful prospects into the player auctions. Under the auspices of the AKFI, PKL Season 9 will be conducted in collaboration with our partners and allies in the national kabaddi ecosystem.”

According to league regulations, PKL teams may also retain players from their respective PKL Season 8 squads. In each PKL season, franchisees are permitted to retain up to six players in the Elite Retained Players category and up to four New Young Players (NYPs) under certain criteria. The players who are not retained by the franchisees from a pool of 500+ players will be auctioned off at a two-day auction in Mumbai.

Mashal Sports and Disney Star have evolved the PKL into a successful sports league in conjunction with the Amateur Kabaddi Federation of India (AKFI). It has the most amount of matches of any Indian national league. The PKL has revolutionised the image of India’s indigenous sport of Kabaddi and its participants both nationally and internationally. Because of their players’ participation in the PKL, several Kabaddi-playing nations have enhanced their local Kabaddi programmes.

Adani Sportsline CEO Satyam Trivedi stated, “After a fantastic Season 8, all of the athletes are excited to go back on the mat. Gujarat Giants is looking forward to receiving some great offers and assembling a formidable roster for the forthcoming Season 9.”