Top 3 defenders who could have fetched higher bid in PKL 8 auction

Ambarish Upadhyay 

After a two-year gap due to the coronavirus pandemic, the upcoming season of the PKL is all set to begin from December 22. The New Young Players (NYP) draft was carried out on August 29, while the overseas and Category A players and Category A (domestic players) went under the hammer on August 30. The auction for the players in categories B, C, and D took place on August 31.

The 3 days of auction was eventful as some of the players went over-priced while some were signed at an amount low to their potential.

Let’s have a look at top 3 defenders who were possibly a steal in the auction –

1. SURENDER NADA (20 LAKHS, HARYANA STEELERS)

The finest left corner of all time Surender Nada, has been impressive with his tackle skills at both national & international level. Surender Nada who has scored more than 200 tackle points so far in PKL was signed by Haryana at just 20 Lakhs. Nada was bought at a price of 77 lakhs by Patna Pirates in PKL 7 auction but unfortunately due to injuries he missed the whole season.

2. GIRISH ERNAK (20 LAKHS, GUJARAT GIANTS)

Girish established himself as a solid left corner defender over the years in the Pro Kabaddi League. Girish performed up to his potential with Puneri Paltan from PKL 5. Girish was released by Paltan before the PKL 8 auction. Girish has scored 260 tackle points in 106 PKL appearances. A player of this skill set being sold at his base price was possibly a steal by Gujarat at the auction.

3. SUNIL NARWAL (31.50 LAKHS, PATNA PIRATES)

The emerging right corner made his PKL debut for Haryana Steelers in PKL 6 and was part of the team in PKL 7 too. Sunil was the highest tackle points scored for Haryana in season 7 (55 tackle points). Although being a consistent performer for two seasons, Haryana released him before PKL 8 auction. Luckily, Patna roped in Sunil at low price in the auction which possibly could solve their problem of right corner.