Pro Kabaddi League 2021: PKL Season 8 Auction Date, Rules, Base Price, Salary Purse, Players Retention Details

PKL, which started out in 2014 with just eight franchises battling it out for the much-coveted trophy, evolved into a much bigger league with the addition of four new teams.

The PKL season 7, the toughest season, saw franchises splash out over 50 crores to acquire 200 players with Siddharth Desai being the most expensive buy after Telugu Titans got the winning bid for the Indian raider at ₹1.45 crore.

Meanwhile, the most expensive foreign player was Iranian Mohammad Esmaeil Nabibakhsh who was bought for ₹77.75 lakh by eventual season 7 champions Bengal Warriors.

Now, as the stage is set for PKL to return after nearly two years with Season 8, myKhel takes a look at the auction date, time, rules, base price, salary purse, players retention details:

When and where is PKL Season 8 Players Auction taking place?

The PKL Season 8 Player Auction will take place in Mumbai on August 29th, August 30th and August 31st.

How many players will go under the hammer during PKL Season 8 Auction?

The Season 8 Player Pool has been expanded to 500+ athletes including all squad players from PKL Season 6 and 7, as well as all players who have represented the top 8 ranked teams of the AKFI Senior Men’s National Kabaddi Championships of 2020 and 2021 amongst others.

What is the Salary Purse for franchise heading into PKL Season 8 Auction?

The total Salary Purse applicable to each Franchisee for its squad for Season 8 is INR 4.4 Crores.

What is the base price for players at the PKL Season 9 Auction?

The Season 8 Player Auctions will see Domestic, Overseas, and New Young Players (NYPs) divided into four categories: Category A, B, C and D. Within each category, the players will be further sub-divided as ‘All-Rounders’, ‘Defenders’ and ‘Raiders’.

Base prices for each of the categories are:

Category A – INR 30 Lakhs,

Category B – INR 20 Lakhs

Category C – INR 10 Lakhs

Category D – INR 6 Lakhs.

What are the retention rules and how many players can be retained going into PKL Season 8 Auction?

The PKL teams are also expected to exercise their choice of retention of PKL Season 7 squads as per the league policies before the upcoming auction.

For each PKL Season, teams are allowed to retain up to six players under the Elite Retained Players category and up to six New Young Players (NYPs) under stipulated conditions.

And of the 500+ players from the player pool, players who are not retained by the franchisees will go under the hammer during the auctions.

How to follow or watch the PKL Season 8 Player Auction?

The three-day auction process will be telecast LIVE on the Star Sports Network and streamed live via Disney+HotStar VIP, while fans can also follow all the latest updates of the Player Auctions on the official vivo Pro Kabaddi website www.prokabaddi.com and myKhel.com.

When is PKL Season 8 scheduled to start?

Organisers Mashal Sports plans to commence Season 8 of the vivo Pro Kabaddi League in December 2021, in complete compliance with the health and safety regulations set by the Government of India.

Which are the teams taking part in PKL Season 8?

• Bengal Warriors

• Bengaluru Bulls

• Dabang Delhi

• Jaipur Pink Panthers

• Gujarat Fortunegiants

• Tamil Thalaivas

• Telugu Titans

• U Mumba

• Haryana Steelers

• UP Yoddha

• Patna Pirates

• Puneri Paltan