Pro Kabaddi, a premier league initiative by Mashal Sports and Star India, today conducted a successful player auction for its forthcoming season 4 in Mumbai.
The auction netted a total price of INR 15.614cr for 96 players, from a list of 198 players available for the auction. The focus of all franchise owners was to competitively equip their respective teams for a brand new season of fierce skill and rivalry.
The highest bid for this year’s auction was Mohit Chhillar who was bagged by Bengaluru Bulls for a whopping amount of INR 53 lacs; against the base price of INR12 lacs.
The top five players in the overseas category saw high interest from all franchisees. Fazel Atrachali from Iran went to Patna Pirates for INR 38 lacs. South Korean star player Jang Kun Lee was retained by Bengal Warriors for INR 22 lacs. Hadi Oshtorak who was the highest bidded player from Season 2 by Telugu Titans kept up his impressive run in Pro Kabaddi and was bagged by Patna Pirates for INR 8 lacs. Iranian all-rounder Meraj Sheykh went to Dabang Delhi K.C. for 19 lacs.
Nitin Kukreja, CEO Star Sports said, “Over the last three years, Star India has led the way in showing that India is ready to be a multi-sport nation. A particularly successful example of this phenomenon is the growth of Kabaddi over the last 20+ months. With the aspirational narrative that the sport was given, each season of Pro Kabaddi has grown in stadia as well as on television, in rural as well as in urban audiences. The Season 4 auction unfolded a brand new chapter in Kabaddi with 198 players going under the hammer! And owners strategically dashing their way through to reconstitute teams with a good mix of Indian and International players. We are already seeing renewed and growing brand sponsorship support and Season 4 of Pro Kabbadi promises to be an even bigger opportunity to engage with the sport and its fans!”
The teams were armed with their respective strategy and aimed to find the perfect balance for Season 4. Franchises were given an option to retain two of their existing players. The key Indian players retained by franchises include Manjeet Chhillar and raider Deepak Niwas Hooda for Puneri Paltan. The charismatic captain cool of U Mumba, Anup Kumar and Rishank Devadiga were retained by the team. Dabang Delhi K.C. kept hold of Kashiling Adake, who will be playing in his 4th season for the team along with young raider Selvamani K. Rahul Chaudhari and Sukesh Hegde will once again represent the Telugu Titans while Jaipur Pink Panthers have retained Rajesh Narwal and Jasvir Singh. Bengal Warriors retained Nilesh Shinde and Girish Maruti Ernak. Bengaluru Bulls retained Pawan Kumar and Ashish Kumar. Winners of Season 3, Patna Pirates retained Pardeep Narwal and Rajesh Mondal, leaving their winning captain in the auction pool.
Noteworthy was a brand new endeavour by the league to promote talent across the country. This season will see franchisees pick and host three young players who will be trained alongside with the squad. These players will be treated as potential talent in the age group of 18-22 and necessarily should have never played in a league before. They will have a franchisee commitment of two seasons.
TOP 10 CONTRACTED PLAYERS – PRO KABADDI SEASON 4
Sr. No
Name
Current Team
Old Team
Contracted Amount (INR)
1
Mohit Chhillar
Bengaluru Bulls
U Mumba
53 lacs
2
Sandeep Narwal
Telugu Titans
Patna Pirates
45.5 lacs
3
Jeeva Kumar
U Mumba
U Mumba
40 lacs
4
Fazel Atrachali
Patna Pirates
U Mumba
38 lacs
5
Jasmer Singh Gulia
Telugu Titans
Puneri Paltan
35.5 lacs
6
Shabeer Bappu
Jaipur Pink Panthers
U Mumba
32.2 lacs
7
Kuldeep Singh
Patna Pirates
Jaipur Pink Panthers
30.4 lacs
8
Surender Nada
Bengaluru Bulls
U Mumba
30 lacs
9
Dharmaraj Cheralathan
Patna Pirates
Telugu Titans
29 lacs
10
Rakesh Kumar
U Mumba
U Mumba
26 lacs
About Pro Kabaddi
Pro Kabaddi, a premier initiative of Mashal Sports and Star India, has galvanised the indigenous sport of Kabaddi and transformed it into an aspirational game for players and fans alike. Over the last 24 months, Pro Kabaddi has held 3 seasons that have been a phenomenal success and with the aspirational narrative that the sport was given, each season of Pro Kabaddi has grown in stadia as well as on television and digital, in rural as well as amongst urban audiences.
Season 4 will now see re-constituted teams, as franchises purchase new players and also retained some in accordance with their strategy for the upcoming season. Each team will have rebuilt their team squad, after retaining a choice of two players. The teams will now also include (for the first time) budding new talent from the Amateur Kabaddi Federation of India.
The league features 60 games played across 37 days in 8 cities, commencing June 25th – July 31st. Following the ‘caravan style’ format as in the previous three seasons, the league will be played at each franchise city for a duration of four days, where the home team will play four of the visiting franchises. All seven visiting franchises will play a set of away games in each city.
These games will be carried LIVE on prime-time television by the international broadcaster, Star Sports, who play a critical role in showcasing the athletic glory of this high-intensity contact sport.
The premium sports league is formally backed by the International Kabaddi Federation (IKF), the Asian Kabaddi Federation (AKF) and the Amateur Kabaddi Federation of India (AKFI), who are closely associated with its organization and technical conduct.
For any further information, please contact:
Saloni Dutta
E-mail: saloni.dutta@startv.com
Ph No: 9619129077
Andrew Tshering Bareh
E-Mail: Andrew.bareh@bm.com
Ph No: 8447938219
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