As Season 11 of Pro Kabaddi inches closer, all 12 franchises will be eager to build strong squads during the PKL 11 player auction, which is set to take place on August 15 and 16 in Mumbai.

Ahead of the Pro Kabaddi Season 11 player auction, the 12 teams combined to retain a total of 88 players across three categories with 22 from the Elite Retained Players (ERP) category, 26 in the Retained Young Players (RYP) category and 40 in the Existing New Young Players (ENYP) category. 

Retaining players means that these players cut into the overall purse budget of INR 5 crore for all franchises at the player auction. Some big names like Pawan Sehrawat, Maninder Singh, Pardeep Narwal, Fazel Atrachali and Mohammadreza Chiyaneh were not retained by their respective teams and will go under the hammer in the Pro Kabaddi Season 11 player auction.

With that in mind, let’s have a look at some of the retained players, purse balances and assess the areas that teams will look to address at the PKL 11 player auction.

Bengal Warriors | INR 3.62 crore remaining

Bengal Warriors retained three raiders and just as many defenders ahead of the PKL 11 player auction. The raiders that they retained includes Nitin Kumar who was the team’s support raider last season and finished with 169 raid points, while Vishwas S notched 43 raid points in PKL 10. Among the retained defenders, Aditya S. Shinde accounted for 21 tackle points last season. However, going by their current crop of players, they will need to invest in more experienced raiders and defenders with PKL pedigree at the player auction.

Bengaluru Bulls | INR 3.02 crore remaining

Bengaluru Bulls retained plenty of defenders and a couple of raiders ahead of the PKL 11 player auction. Their retained raiders include the likes of Sushil and Akshit who managed to score 100 and 61 raid points respectively last season. Skipper Saurabh Nandal has also been retained and is the most experienced player among their current set of defenders. At the PKL 11 player auction, the Bulls are likely to eye snapping up players capable of being the lead raider for their team, while looking to fine-tune their strength in their defensive and all-round departments.

Dabang Delhi K.C. | INR 2.66 crore remaining

Dabang Delhi K.C. ensured that they retained their star players by securing the services of Naveen Kumar, Ashu Malik, and Yogesh ahead of the PKL 11 player auction. In Naveen Kumar and Ashu Malik, they boast two of the best raiders in the league. Yogesh is also one of the top defenders in PKL and finished with the third most raid points (74) last season. While the backbone of Dabang Delhi K.C. remains intact, they will be eager to add more defensive cover and support raiders at the player auction in a bid to boost their squad depth.

Gujarat Giants | INR 4.08 crore remaining

Like Dabang Delhi K.C., Gujarat Giants also retained their best raiders from the previous season after keeping Parteek Dahiya and Rakesh with them. Balaji D, who scored 16 tackle points for the Giants last season, is one of the all-rounders who will continue with the team. Looking ahead to the player auction as the team with the biggest remaining purse, it is evident that Gujarat Giants will be targeting top quality defenders as well as a few seasoned raiders, who are capable of contributing in attack to support the likes of Parteek Dahiya and Rakesh.

Haryana Steelers | INR 2.57 crore remaining

Unsurprisingly, Haryana Steelers decided to retain a bulk of their squad from last season after finishing as runners-up in PKL 10. They opted to stick to their tried and tested defence of Jaideep Dahiya, Mohit Nandal, and Rahul Sethpal. The defensive trio played a huge role in turning the Steelers into one of the meanest defences last season. In attack, they’ve kept hold of Vinay and Shivam Patare, who scored 163 and 116 raid points respectively in Season 10. That said, they’ll still be looking to bolster their raiding department while also targeting a few all-rounders at the player auction.

Jaipur Pink Panthers | INR 2.29 crore remaining

Two-time champions Jaipur Pink Panthers opted to retain their talismanic raider Arjun Deshwal along with two of their most potent defenders in Ankush and Reza Mirbagheri. However, they will need to strengthen on all fronts at the player auction and will be focusing on raiders who can support Deshwal on the mat in a better way than they did last season. They will also aim to strengthen their defensive department as they have just two experienced defenders in the squad and could be eyeing all-rounders who can contribute on both ends of the mat.

Patna Pirates | INR 3.57 crore remaining

Patna Pirates have their work cut out at the Season 11 player auction with the three-time champions in need of strengthening on all fronts. Their only two retained players who stood out with their performances last season are all-round Ankit and raider Sudhakar M. While Ankit managed 66 tackle points, Sudhakar M contributed 103 raid points in what was both players’ debut campaign. Needless to say, the Pirates have to rope in seasoned players with PKL pedigree across all departments, meaning their squad rebuild at the player auction will almost start from scratch.

Puneri Paltan | INR 2.06 crore remaining

Similar to last season’s losing finalist Haryana Steelers, defending champions Puneri Paltan have chosen to keep the core of their team together and have retained most of their key players. The likes of Abinesh Nadarajan, Gaurav Khatri, Aditya Shinde, Akash Shinde, Mohit Goyat, Aslam Inamdar, Pankaj Mohite, and Sanket Sawant are all a part of a Puneri Paltan squad that’s banking on continuity to repeat their title winning heroics. One area they might be looking to address at the player auction is buying a top quality all-rounder to fill the void left by Mohammadreza Chiyaneh, who scored 126 points last season. Budget permitting, Puneri Paltan could look to buy back Chiyaneh with their FBM card. However, should that not come to pass, they might want to sign another quality all-rounder for squad balance.

Tamil Thalaivas | INR 2.57 crore remaining

Tamil Thalaivas were quick to retain their best performers in attack and defence from last season ahead of the player auction. In attack, they kept Narender, who was their leading point scorer and fifth in the PKL 10 charts for most raid points (186). They also kept a hold of both Sagar and Sahil Gulia who made for a formidable defensive duo last season as their 66 and 69 tackle points respectively suggests. M. Abishek, who managed 39 tackle points last season, further strengthens their defence. That said, they will have to target more established raiders at the player auction to ease the pressure of scoring raid points from young Narender’s shoulders.

Telugu Titans | INR 3.82 crore remaining

After yet another disappointing PKL campaign in the previous season that saw them finishing last, Telugu Titans have gone back to the drawing board and are starting afresh. They’ve released most of their players from last season, including their main man Pawan Sehrawat. While they’ve persisted with a few defenders like Omkar Patil and Praful Zaware as well as all-rounders such as Sanjeevi S and Shankar Gadai, most of their squad is in need of a thorough rebuild. Expect them to be busy at the PKL 11 player auction table as they try to successfully bid for top quality raiders and defenders in the hope of a better campaign in Season 11.

U Mumba | INR 2.87 crore remaining

Season 2 champions U Mumba opted to go defence heavy with their retained players prior to the player auction. They will continue with the likes of Bittu, Gokulakannan M., Mukilan Shanmugam, Sombir, and Rinku, meaning their defensive setup already looks solid on paper. Their attack though is in need of major upgrades since Iranian Amirmohammad Zafardanesh is the only recognised player capable of scoring raid points in the team. At the player auction, the Mumboys must ensure that they buy PKL proven raiders who can single handedly change the course of a match with their individual brilliance. They might also want to add a few all-rounders to help the overall balance of the side.

UP Yoddhas | INR 3.05 crore remaining

Another franchise that will be eager to make amends in Season 11 is UP Yoddhas following an 11th place finish last time around. Even though the Yodhhas let go of Pardeep Narwal, they still have two quality raiders in Surender Gill and Gagana Gowda as part of their squad. Defensively, the likes of the ever consistent Sumit alongside Ashu Singh and Hitesh shows that they have players with PKL know-how. However, it goes without saying that they’ll need to add significantly to both the raiding and defence departments at the player auction to stand a chance of enjoying any sort of success in Season 11.

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