The auction for the ninth edition of the Pro Kabaddi League (PKL) is scheduled to take place on August 5-6 in Mumbai, Marshal Sports, the organisers of the league announced on Friday, July 22.
The PKL Season 9 player auction will comprise domestic, overseas and new young players (NYPs). These players will be divided into four categories: A, B, C, D.
The kabaddi players have been further classified into all-rounders, raiders and defenders. The base price of players in Category A will be INR 30 lakh.
The base price for players in Category B will be INR 20 lakh, while those in Category C and D will have base prices of INR 10 lakh and INR 6 lakh respectively. Each franchise will have a salary purse of INR 4.4 crore for PKL Season 9.
The PKL 9 player auction pool has been expanded to more than 500 aspirants, including 24 players from the top two teams of the Khelo India University Games 2021, Bangalore.
As per the league policy, all 12 PKL franchises will have an option to retain players from their PKL 8 squads ahead of the auction.
The teams are allowed to retain up to six players under the Elite Retained Players category. Franchises can also retain up to four players from NYPs category under stipulated conditions.
The two-day PKL Season 9 auction will see the remaining players from the pool of 500, who have not been retained, go under the hammer.
“As we get ready for the Season 9 Player Auction, very exciting times lie ahead for kabaddi as a sport and our players. Every season has witnessed the emergence of new talented players and I am certain that there are a lot of surprises in store for us this year as well,” said PKL Commissioner and Marshal Sports CEO Anupam Goswami.
“I look forward to welcoming the young talents from the Khelo India University Games into the player auctions. PKL Season 9 will be organised in liaison with our stakeholders and associates in the national kabaddi ecosystem under the AKFI,” Goswami added.
The Pro Kabaddi League Season 9 auction will be telecast live on the Star Sports Network.
Featured photo: Pro Kabaddi
