The 2018 edition of the Pro Kabaddi League (PKL) auctions turned out be a landmark event, witnessing the making and breaking of records, with five Indians and one foreign player entering the Rs 1 crore club.
Wednesday, the first day of the two-day auction, had seen Iranian star Fazel Atrachali create history by becoming the first to command a price of Rs 1 crore before raider Monu Goyat became the most expensive player when Haryana Steelers secured his services for a whopping Rs 1.51 crore.
Thursday's proceeding's were more sedate in comparison. Prashant Kumar Rai was the hot pick of the day as UP Yoddhas bagged the raider for Rs 79 lakh.
Another raider Chandran Ranjit also sparked off a bidding war between different franchises before Dabang Delhi bagged the 26-year-old for Rs 61.25 lakh.
The third costliest buy of the day was Pawan Kumar, the raider who had earlier played for U Mumba. The 23-year-old was snapped up by Bengaluru Bulls for Rs 52.8 lakh.
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U Mumba and Delhi faced a close fight for Dharmaraj Cheralatha. However, the former secured the defender after spending Rs 46 lakh.
Later, Delhi were successful in bringing Vishal Mane to their squad after spending Rs 45 lakh. Making their defence stronger, Delhi also picked up Joginder Narwal for Rs 33 lakh.
Ajay Kumar and Tushar Patil, who were both bid for identical sums of Rs 25 lakh, were bagged by Gujarat Fotunegiants and Patna Pirates respectively.
However, there was disappointment in store for former India captain Rakesh Kumar as none of the franchises appeared to be interested in him.
On Wednesday, the first of the two-day PKL auction here, several records were made, only to be broken within minutes.
Deepak Niwas Hooda became the first Indian 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 auctions, UP Yoddhas spent Rs 1.11 crore to retain Rishank Devadiga.
Delhi tried their best to sign star raider Rahul Chaudhary after making a Rs 1.29 crore bid, but the Telugu Titans exercised the Final Bid Match (FBM) at the right time to retain the 24-year-old.
However, former India captain Anup Kumar 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.
—IANS