PKL 2021 Auction: From Deepak Hooda to Rahul Chaudhari, who can attract the biggest bid in Pro Kabaddi League 2021 Auction – The Pro Kabaddi League is all set to make a return after two years of gap due to COVID-19. The player auction will take place from August 29 to August 31. On Friday, all 12 teams released their list of retentions. A total of 59 players were retained with 22 in the Elite Retained Players (ERP) category, six in the Retained Young Players (RYP) category, and 31 in the New Young Players (NYP) category as the teams begin assembling their squads for Season-8 slated to take place in December.
What came as a shock for many prolific raider Pardeep Narwal has been released by Patna Pirates while defending champions Bengal Warriors have let go of veterans Sukesh Hegde and Jeeva Kumar. The 12 teams have in total released 161 players with defending champions Bengal Warriors (16 out of 20) and Telugu Titans (15 out of 18) dropping most of their members.
We at Insidesport will take you through the list of five players who can attract big bids in the upcoming PKL 2021 auction.
Deepak Hooda
A gold medal winner in the 2016 Kabaddi World Cup, and one of the fittest players in Pro Kabaddi, Deepak Hooda who was released by the Jaipur Pinkpanthers ahead of the PKL 2021 auction. The rounder has consistently been making his mark in the sport. After the first two seasons, he stepped up as the leading raider for Puneri Paltan in Seasons 3, 4 and 5. He also topped the Do-Or-Die raid points chart in the latter campaign indicating his ability to cope under pressure. He is one of the most capable all-rounders, and his rise has been meteoric. Deepak Hooda will be a hot pick in this year’s auction.
Ajay Thakur
Tamil Thalivas’s captain Ajay Thakur has consistently been among the leading raiders of Pro Kabaddi since its inception. He has also been a part of a number of last-minute victories for his side and was the hero of India’s 2016 Kabaddi World Cup triumph. Thakur scored a Super 10 against Iran in the final of the 2016 Kabaddi World Cup to lead India to victory. Thakur was the fourth most successful raider in his debut Pro Kabaddi season where he played for Bengaluru Bulls. Even though the age is not by his side Ajay Thakur still got the skills to turn the game on its head. Many teams will want a raider of his stature in their ranks.
Also Read: Pro Kabaddi League 2021: Player auction for PKL Season 8 to take place on August 29-31
Rahul Chaudhari
The Poster Boy of Pro Kabaddi League Rahul Chaudhari is one of the most successful players in the league’s history. Through the seasons, Chaudhari has been the league’s trend-setter in raiding milestones. Rahul Chaudhari scored 161 points in the inaugural season, the second-highest tally in that campaign. Chaudhari led the league in scoring with 150 points in Season 4. Chaudhari won his maiden Best Raider Award in that season. In Season 7, Chaudhari became the second man to score 1000 points in the league. Rahul Chaudhari is just 28-year-old and many franchises will aim to bid for him in the mega auction.
Pradeep Narwal
Patna Pirates captain Pradeep Narwal not getting retained is the biggest shock of this year’s PKL. The Haryana lad took the kabaddi world by storm by becoming the highest point-scorer in his debut season with Patna Pirates. From then on, he has consistently broken record after record, the crowning glory of which was an 8-point raid against Haryana Steelers in Season 5 which left both players and fans speechless. It will not be a big surprise if all 12 teams bid for Pradeep in the upcoming auction.
Manjeet Chhillar
Arguably one of the best all-rounders to have ever played the game of Kabaddi, Manjeet Chhillar will be in the auction this year. He was adjudged as the best defender in the inaugural season and then the Most Valuable Player in the following campaign. The all-rounder finished among the league’s top five point scorers in each of the first three seasons. Chhillar is one of only two players with over 200 raid points and tackle points in Pro Kabaddi. In Season 6, the all-rounder became the first man to score 300 tackle points in Pro Kabaddi. With his raiding, defending and captaincy skills he will be one of the hottest picks in the PKL auction.
Editors pick
