The much anticipated Season 9 player auction for Pro Kabaddi is all set to take place from August 5-6 in Mumbai. It will be a two-day event with more than 500 players going under the hammer and here’s a closer look at how the Season 9 auction is going to work.
Player pool and squad size
The Pro Kabaddi Season 9 player auction will feature players released by teams, overseas players, New Young Players (NYPs) identified through Mashal Sports’ Future Kabaddi Heroes scouting programme, the top eight ranked teams from the Senior National Kabaddi Championship over the last two seasons and the top two teams of the Khelo India University Games 2021.
Each franchise requires a minimum of 18 players and a maximum of 25 players in their squad as per the Pro Kabaddi auction rules. Teams are allowed a minimum of two and a maximum of four overseas players in their squad.
Meanwhile, it's important to note that 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.
Salary purse and base price
The salary purse for each team for the Season 9 auctions is INR 4.4 crore. However, the amount in each team’s purse is subject to change based on the players retained by the franchises ahead of the auction.
Players in the auction will be grouped as raiders, defenders and all-rounders before being divided into four categories with varying base prices. The base price for players in Category A and B is INR 30 lakh and INR 20 lakh respectively, while those in Category C have a base piece of INR 10 lakh and Category D are priced at a minimum of INR 6 lakh.
Bidding process and Final Bid Match
Once the auction begins, bidding will start from the base price of the respective player. If several teams show interest in the player, then the franchise with the highest bid secures the services of the talent in question.
However, there can be certain instances where the maximum bid can be matched by a players’ previous employers, resulting in them re-joining their former team. This can only happen with the Final Bid Match (FBM) card that allows teams to buy back players released by the franchise ahead of the Season 9 auction after matching the last auction bid price for the concerned player.
It’s also worth noting that if a team has a maximum of six allowed player retentions, they will be ineligible to use the FBM card. As per Pro Kabaddi’s auction rules, a team that’s made five retentions can use the FBM card once, while teams with four or fewer retentions can utilize the card twice.
Featured Photo: Pro Kabaddi League / Website
