New Delhi, Sep 1: Dabang Delhi KC had a fantastic Pro Kabaddi League (PKL) Season 7 as it made it to the finals for the first time in the history of the tournament. The Delhi-based franchise made some interesting buys in the PKL Auction 2021 in a three-day bidding process that took place in Mumbai on August 29, 30, and 31 as 500 players went under the hammer.
After a two-year gap due to the coronavirus pandemic, the upcoming season of the PKL is set to get underway in December. The New Young Players (NYP) draft was carried out on August 29, while the overseas and Category A players and Category A (domestic players) went under the hammer on August 30. The auction for the players in categories B, C, and D took place on August 31.
Dabang Delhi made their costliest purchase in all-rounder Sandeep Narwal by acquiring his services for Rs 60 Lacs. Sandeep had been part of the franchise in the past.
The franchise also bolstered its squad by roping in senior India raider Ajay Thakur for Rs 46 Lac. Thakur - who has been a stalwart of the game - was released by Tamil Thalaivas earlier last month.
The franchise also bought its dependable defender from the previous season, Joginder Singh Narwal at a base price of Rs 20 Lac. Joginder led the Dabang Delhi side in the PKL 7 season, where they finished as runners-up.
PKL Auction 2021: The Complete List of Sold and Unsold Domestic Players
Delhi further strengthened its defence by roping in senior right and left cover defender Jeeva Kumar for Rs 44 lac. It also bought senior all-rounder Manjeet Chhillar at a base price of 20 lac.
Iranian raider Emad Sedaghat Nia was purchased for Rs 10.2 lac and emerged as the most expensive overseas player for the side. Defender Mohammad Malak was another overseas player bought by the Delhi franchise at the auction.
The owners also retained a lot of existing new young players like Mohit, Vijay, Naveen Kumar, Neeraj Narwal, Sumit, and Balram for the upcoming season.
With the three-day auction completed, here's how the Dabang Delhi KC squad looks like ahead of the eighth season of the Pro Kabaddi League.
Dabang Delhi KC Full Squad, Total Money Spent, Purse Remaining ahead of the PKL 2021 Season:
Purse Amount: Rs 4.40 cr
Total Spent: Rs 3.98 cr
Remaining Purse: 41.71 lac
Full squad composition after auction:
Raiders: 5
Defenders: 6
All-rounders: 4
List of players retained:
Elite Retained Players:
Vijay - All Rounder
Neeraj Narwal - Raider
Retained Young Players
Naveen Kumar - (Raider) Existing New Young Players
Balram - All-Rounder
Sumit - Defender
Mohit - Defender
Players bought at auction:
Sushant Sail - Raider, Category-C - Rs 10 lac
Manjeet Chhillar - All-Rounder, Category-B - Rs 20 lac
Vikas Defender - Left Corner, Category-D - Rs 6 lac
Ajay Thakur - Raider, Category-B - Rs 46 lac
Jeeva Kumar - Defender - Right And Left Cover, Category-B - Rs 44 lac
Joginder Singh Narwal - Defender - Left Corner, Category-B - Rs 20 lac
Sandeep Narwal - All-Rounder, Category-B - Rs 60 lac
Emad Sedaghat Nia - Raider, Category-C - Rs 10.20 lac
Mohammad Malak - Defender, Category-C - Rs 10 lac