On a day which saw records being repeatedly broken at the Pro Kabaddi League (PKL) players' auction, five Indians and one foreign player entered the Rs 1 crore club. Among them, Monu Goyat emerged as the most expensive buy in the league’s history after being snapped up by Haryana Steelers for Rs 1.51 crore.
Earlier, Deepak Niwas Hooda became the first player to cross the Rs 1 crore mark as Jaipur Pink Panthers paid a astounding sum of Rs 1.15 crore to bag his services for the league's sixth edition.
Nitin Tomar, who was last year's costliest player with a price tag of Rs 93 lakh, also followed Deepak to edge past the 1-crore mark as Puneri Paltans pocketed him for Rs 1.15 crore.
In the final moments of the first day’s auction, UP Yoddha spent Rs 1.11 crore to retain Rishank Devadiga.
Delhi tried their best to sign star raider Rahul Chaudhari after making a Rs 1.29 crore bid, but Telugu Titans exercised the Final Bid Match (FBM) card at the right time to retain the 24-year-old.
Former India captain Anup Kumar though suffered a fall from grace as he commanded a mere Rs 30 lakh. Anup, who led India to a record third World Cup title in 2016, will represent the Jaipur Pink Panthers this season.
He had commanded a price of Rs 56.65 lakh last season, while being retained for the fifth consecutive time by the U Mumba franchise. However, he was not retained this season following a run of poor form.
During the afternoon session of the auction, Iranian defender Fazel Atrachali became the first player ever to breach the Rs 1 crore mark in PKL history. The Iranian was pocketed by U Mumba for a whopping Rs 1 crore.
Having a base price of Rs 30 lakh, the 26-year-old stirred a neck to neck fight between Jaipur and the Mumbai franchises before the later sealed the deal. Gujarat Fortunegiants had the option to retain the Iranian. However, they decided not to exercise the FBM option.
The left corner defender has featured in 56 matches of PKL, securing 152 tackle points.
Atrachali however was could not remain the costliest buy in PKL history for very long as Jaipur spent a massive sum of Rs 1.15 crore to pick up Deepak Hooda. He sparked a bidding war between the various franchises. Haryana Steelers and Dabang Delhi fought a close fight to secure his services. However, it were the Panthers who came out victorious to bag the 23-year-old.
Patna Pirates paid Rs 21 lakh for all-rounder Kuldeep Singh while Pink Panthers once again spent Rs 58 lakh for Mohit Chillar.
Surinder Nada, meanwhile, also emerged as one of the most expensive players as Haryana Steelers had to spend Rs 75 lakh for keeping the all-rounder in their squad.
Atrachali's compatriot Abozar Mohajermighani, who was the first foreign player to be auctioned, was snapped up by Telugu Titans for Rs 76 lakh as the Fortunegiants once again refused to exercise their FBM option.
South Korean raider Jang Kun Lee was bought by Haryana Steelers for Rs 33 lakh. However, the Bengal Warriors utilised the FBM card to retain the 25-year-old.
However, the franchises showed meagre interest in Chillar, who was one of the most expensive buys at last year's auctions. Tamil Thalaivas took home the defender for a mere Rs 20 lakh.
Bengal also signed Bangladesh's left cover defender Ziaur Rahman for Rs 33.25 lakh, while his compatriot, raider Md Zakir Hossain, went to Haryana Steelers for Rs 8.4 lakh.
Jaipur Pink Panthers showed interest in Iran's Farhad Rahimi and had almost picked him for Rs 21.5 lakh but Telugu Titans utilised the FBM option to retain the right-corner defender.
Jaipur however, secured the services of South Korean Young Chang Ko and Kenya's David Mosambayi after paying Rs 11.4 lakh and Rs 10.2 lakh respectively.
Gujarat signed their first players of the auction when they spent Rs 12 lakh and Rs 17.2 lakh to rope in Iran's Hadi Oshtorak and South Korean Dong Geon Lee respectively.
Patna Pirates bought South Korean all-rounder Taedeok Eom for Rs 11.4 lakh, while another South Korean Dong Ju Hong was pocketed by Bengaluru Bulls for Rs 8 lakhs.
Nepal's all-rounder Sanjay Shrestha was sold to Puneri Paltan for Rs 8 lakh while South Korean Seaong Ryeol Kim went to UP Yoddhas for Rs 8.2 Lakh.
On the other hand, Tamil Thalaivas payed Rs 8 lakh to bag Chan Sik Park of South Korea.
On the second and final day on Thursday, players from the B and C category will go under the hammer for the upcoming sixth edition of the league.
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