After a two-year hiatus enforced due to the Covid-19 pandemic, the Pro Kabaddi League (PKL) is all set to make its return and the excitement among players and fans alike is palpable with the player auctions just around the corner. Although PKL is slated to begin in December, the player auction is scheduled to be held at the end of August.
Ahead of the three-day-long auction, PKL franchises have been announcing their list of retained players and it’s safe to say that there have been quite a few surprises. While Pardeep Narwal's non-retention by three-time champions Patna Pirates has been one of the biggest surprises so far, plenty of other teams have gone with some eyebrow-raising retentions.
A total of 59 players, including 22 elite, have been retained by the 12 teams. As per the rules of Pro Kabaddi, a maximum of 12 players can be retained by a team consisting of a maximum of six seasoned and six young players.
Here’s the complete list of players retained by PKL franchises so far.
Bengal Warriors retained players
Maninder Singh - Raider
Mohammad Esmaeil Nabibakhsh - All Rounder
Rinku Narwal - Defender
Ravindra Ramesh Kumawat - Raider
Bengaluru Bulls retained players
Pawan Kumar Sehrawat - Raider
Amit Sheoran - Defender
Saurabh Nandal - Defender
Banty - Raider
Mohit Sehrawat - Defender
Dabang Delhi K.C. retained players
Vijay - All Rounder
Neeraj Narwal - Raider
Naveen Kumar - Raider
Balram - All Rounder
Sumit - Defender
Mohit - Defender
Gujarat Giants retained players
Parvesh Bhainswal - Defender
Sunil Kumar - Defender
Harmanjeet Singh - Raider
Sumit - Defender
Ankit - Defender
Haryana Steelers retained players
Vikash Kandola - Raider
Vinay - Raider
Vikas Chillar - Raider
Chand Singh - Defender
Jaipur Pink Panthers retained players
Amit Hooda - Defender
Vishal - Defender
Nitin Rawal - All Rounder
Sachin Narwal - All Rounder
Pavan TR - Defender
Sushil Gulia - Raider
Elavarasan A - Defender
Patna Pirates retained players
Neeraj Kumar - Defender
Monu - Raider
Sahil Mann - All Rounder
Rajveersinh Pratap Rao Chavan - Raider
Mohit - Raider
Puneri Paltan retained players
Balasaheb Shahaji Jadhav - Defender
Pawan Kumar Kadian - Raider
Hadi Tajik - Defender
Sanket Sawant - Defender
Pankaj Mohite - Raider
Tamil Thalaivas retained players
Sagar - Defender
Himanshu - Defender
M Abishek - Defender
Telugu Titans retained players
Rakesh Gowda - Raider
Ankit Beniwal - Raider
Rajnish - Raider
Manish - Defender
Akash Choudhary - Defender
Akash Dattu Arsul - Defender
U Mumba retained players
Abhishek Singh - Raider
Ajinkya Rohidas Kapre - All Rounder
Harendra Kumar - Defender
Fazel Atrachali - Defender
Navneet - Raider
U.P. Yoddha retained players
Nitesh Kumar - Defender
Sumit - Defender
Ashu Singh - Defender
Surinder Gill - Raider
Featured photo : Pro Kabaddi
