How much the Crorepatis have done justice with their price tags?
India’s second most popular and successful league, Pro Kabaddi got wrapped up with amusing and engaging matches. Bengaluru Bulls won the trophy of PKL 6. After the commencement of the sixth edition, all eyes were upon the performances of costliest players of the league. It was the first season where 6 players got a bid of Rs.1 Cr and more. Monu Goyat, Rahul Chaudhary, Deepak Niwas Hooda, Nitin Tomar, Rishank Devadiga and Fazel Atrachali made an amount of Rs 1 Cr. or more in the auctions. While Fazel, Deepak, and Nitin showed their best form, Rahul gave average performances. Monu and Rishank gave below average performances.
1) Monu Goyat (Rs 1.51 Cr.), Haryana Steelers
Monu Goyat became the highest paid PKL player in its history. He was bought by Haryana Steelers for Rs.1.51 Cr. While playing for Patna Pirates last season, he scored 191 raid points in 26 matches and won his team the title. Monu was appointed as a captain after Surender Nada got ruled out of the season 6. But he disappointed all Kabaddi fans with his performance. In 20 matches he scored just 160 points with an average of 6.45 raid points per match. He managed to score 10 Super 10’s and one Super Raid so far in PKL 6. His performance was below average and he could not do justice with his price tag. As a result, Haryana Steelers head out of the playoffs contentions.
2) Rahul Chaudhary (Rs 1.29 Cr.), Telugu Titans
Pro Kabaddi League’s highest raid points scorer Rahul Chaudhary was retained by Telugu Titans through FBM for Rs. 1.29 Cr. Rahul played 22 matches and grabbed 184 raid points in PKL season 5 for Telugu Titans. Rahul has clinched 159 raid points from 21 matches with the help of 4 Super Raids and 4 Super 10’s. He holds the average of 8 raid points per match in PKL 6. When you look at Rahul’s scoreboard his numbers not exceptional also and are not below par also. He was consistent but he could not deelievr the perfrmance which was expected by him.
3) Deepak Hooda (Rs 1.15 Cr.), Jaipur Pink Panthers
After playing three consecutive seasons for Puneri Paltan, Deepak Hooda moved to Jaipur Pink Panthers after they purchased him for 1.15 Cr. Deepak represented Puneri Paltan in 24 matches last season and successfully scored 172 raid points. In PKL 6, he grabbed 196 raid points in 22 games of PKL 6 with 10 Super 10’s and 4 Super Raids and his average was 8.91 raid points per match. After a slow start to the campaign, Deepak picked up the momentum. Also was appointed as a captain after the retirement of Anup Kumar. He performed well individually. But could not take his team to the playoffs.
4) Nitin Tomar (Rs 1.15 Cr.), Puneri Paltan
Having played 22 matches for UP Yoddha, Nitin Tomar scored 167 raid points and was sold to Puneri Paltan for Rs. 1.15 Cr. Nitin Tomar was the costliest player in season 5 having a bid of 93 Lakh by UP Yoddha. This year too he is on the list of highest paid players of PKL. Both the times he has lived up to the price tag he has got. Nitin grabbed 100 raid points from 11 matches with an average of 9.09 raid points per match. He scored 4 Super 10’s and 1 Super Raid. But he had an injury and could not play in rest of the tournament. When Nitin was playing Pune Paltan was winning the matches and when he missed the matches they also got failed to make it to the playoffs.
5) Rishank Devadiga (Rs 1.11 Cr.), UP Yoddha
In second consecutive season, Rishank Devadiga is playing for UP Yoddha. They retained him for Rs 1.11 Cr. through FBM. He got 165 raid points in 21 matches in the previous season. Rishank’s performance graph has declined in this season due to his injury. He managed to score 100 raid points from 23 matches with 2 Super Raids and 1 Super 10. This season he is holding a poor average of 4.35 raid points per match. Rishank’s individual performance is below par. But as a captain, he heads his team enter the playoffs and finish it at number three.
6) Fazel Atrachali (Rs 1 Cr.), U Mumba
After the auctions of PKL season 6, Iran Kabaddi Team and U Mumba captain Fazel Atrachali became the first foreign player to sold for Rs. 1 Cr. He was bought back by his former team U Mumba. Fazel scored 57 tackle points in 24 matches played for Gujarat Fortunegiants. In this ongoing PKL season, Fazel tops the defender’s list with 57 tackle points from 14 matches. He has 5 High 5’s and 3 Super tackles to his name. Fazel has average 4.07 tackle points per match. Individually Fazel gave his PKL career-best performance. As a captain also he made sure his team goes to the playoffs.