Lights, camera, a(u)ction! The Pro Kabaddi Leaue (PKL 10) is back and the player auctions for season 10 get underway in Mumbai today. Fresh from winning the gold medal at the Asian Games, India's men's kabaddi stars will be under the spotlight over the next two days.
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We have a packed auction list, with some of the biggest names in the sport of kabaddi up for grabs. India's captain Pawan Kumar Sehrawat, who is the PKL's most expensive player ever, is part of the auction pool and so is PKL's Mr. Consistent, Maninder Singh. There's plenty of interest around the Iranians as well, with their top players such as Fazel Atrachali, Mohammad Esmaeil Nabibakhsh and the Iranian showman, Mohammadreza Shadlou, all part of the auctions.
Pro Kabaddi League 2023: All you need to know about season 10 auction
The domestic and overseas players will be divided into four categories: Category A, B, C and D. The players will further be categorised as 'All-Rounders', 'Defenders' and 'Raiders' within each category. The base prices for each of the categories are Category A: Rs 30 Lakh, Category B: Rs 20 Lakh, Category C: Rs 13 Lakh and Category D: Rs 9 Lakh.
The PKL S10 player auctions will be held over two days and each team has been allotted a total salary purse of Rs 5 crore as opposed to the earlier limit of Rs 4.4 crore. Keep your eyes peeled on the Bengal Warriors, who have the most money going into the auction - Rs 4.2 crore! Teams can also use the Final Bid Match [FBM] card to retain a player during the auction. The FBM card allows the team to buy back its players, who it had earlier released, for the price of the final bid at the auction.