All you need to know about the Pro Kabaddi League Season 11 player auction

As the excitement begins to bubble for Pro Kabaddi League Season 11, all 12 franchises are gearing up towards the player auction that is set to take place on August 15 and 16 in Mumbai.

Ahead of the player auction where teams will look to shape their squads, a total of 88 players were retained across three categories with 22 from the Elite Retained Players, 26 from the Retained Young Players, and 40 from the Existing New Young Players category.

A few of the non-retained players include big name stars like Pawan Sehrawat, Pardeep Narwal, Maninder Singh, and Sunil Kumar, all of whom will go under the hammer. However, before fans get to see what their new teams will look like, here we revisit some of the Pro Kabaddi player auction rules.

Who will be in the Player Pool?

The Pro Kabaddi Season 11 player auction will witness more than 500 players including Raiders, Defenders, and All-rounders going under the hammer. The pool comprises the players released by the franchises after Season 10 alongside other domestic names.

Apart from the senior-level Indian players, the player auction will also feature overseas players from across the globe up for grabs. Additionally, the player pool will also include 24 players from the two finalists of the Khelo India University Games 2024.

What is the maximum squad size of a team?

Each team’s squad in Pro Kabaddi Season 11 can have a minimum of 18 and a maximum of 25 players. With 88 players already retained by the franchises, there are now 212 slots left to be filled during the Season 11 player auction.

Each team in the auction will have a player purse of INR 5 crore to use for bidding and buying players. However, the size of their purse will vary at the auction table depending on who and how many players they have already retained.

What are the player categories and base prices?

The talents featured in the PKL Season 11 player auctions will be categorized into four groups based on their base prices and roles - Category A, B, C & D.

Category A players will have a base price of INR 30 lakh, Category B players will have a base price of INR 20 lakh, Category C INR 13 lakh, while Category D will feature the players with a base price of INR 9 lakh.

These players will be further divided into All-rounders, Raiders, and Defenders, allowing franchises to target their specific needs during the player auction.

How many overseas players are allowed in a Pro Kabaddi squad?

A PKL team is allowed to have a minimum of two and a maximum of four overseas players in their squad.

Elite Retained Players: How does it work?

Ahead of the PKL 11 player auction, all 12 teams were allowed to retain a set number of players across various categories. Each team could retain a maximum of six players among the categories.

Teams were allowed to retain their top performers under the Elite Retained Players (ERP) category so they didn't risk losing them to other teams in the player auction. A maximum of 3 players could be retained under this category.

Existing New Young Players and Retained Young Players: Who are they?

Ahead of the Season 11 player auction, teams retained a combined total of 66 players from the Existing New Young Players (NYP) and Retained Young Players (RYP) categories. These categories comprise a few young players who have played a couple of PKL seasons in the past and they could be retained in the squad ahead of the player auction.

What is the Final Bid Match?

The Final Bid Match (FBM) Card rule allows franchises to buy back their released players by matching the final auction bid price for the player concerned.

Each team can utilise a maximum of three FBM cards, depending on the number of players they have released ahead of the player auction. If a team chooses to retain their maximum allotted 6 players, they will be allowed to use the card FBM only once. However, the card usage increases if the team has retained only 5 or lesser players.

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