The auction for the seventh edition of Pro Kabaddi came to a close in Mumbai on Tuesday with a total of 200 players being bought by the 12 franchises.

Siddharth Desai went for Rs 1.45 crore and Nitin Tomar for Rs 1.20 crore as the most expensive buys for the upcoming season. Domestic Category B also saw some big buys which included Manjeet being bought by Puneri Paltans for Rs 63 lakhs, and K Prapanjan joining the Bengal Warriors for Rs 55.5 lakhs. Among the foreign players, Mohammad Esmaeil Nabibakhsh was the highest paid player of Rs 77.75 lakhs.

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At the end, a total of over Rs 50 crore was spent on 200 players, a huge jump from the season 6 auctions, a press release by the league said.

Rising star Siddharth Desai was bought by Telugu Titans for the highest bid of Rs 1.45 crore on day one. The attacker from Sangli in Maharashtra had earned plaudits by his stellar show in season six of the league. However, the winning bid for Desai was still Rs 6 lakh below the record League price paid for Monu Goyat by Haryana Steelers at season six auction last year.

Desai said, “I jumped with joy when I saw the result of my bid. I come from a humble background; my father is a farmer and I know how difficult it is to become a Kabaddi player. I would like to thank Telugu Titans for believing in me and handing me the opportunity to showcase my talent. Now that I have been sold for such a high price I will make sure I give my 100% and make the team proud.”

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Raider Manjeet bagged the highest bid as a Category B player, bought by Puneri Paltans, netting a price of Rs 63 lakhs.

Here’s a round-up of all the top five buys in various categories:

(FBM: Final Bid Match)

Top 5 Domestic Players

Player Name Price In INR Team
Siddharth Desai (Cat A) 1.45 crore Telugu Titans
Nitin Tomar (Cat A) 1.20 crore Puneri Paltans FBM
Rahul Chaudhari (Cat A) 94 lakhs Tamil Talaivas
Monu Goyat (Cat A) 93 lakhs U.P.Yodhas
Sandeep Narwal (Cat A) 89 lakhs UMumba

Top 5 International players

Player Name Price in INR Team Nationality
Mohammad Esmaeil Nabibakhsh (Cat C) 77.75 lakhs Bengal Warriors Iran
Abozar Mohajermighani (Cat A) 75 lakhs Telugu Titans Iran
Jang Kun Lee (Cat B) 40 lakhs Patna Pirates Republic of Korea
Mohammad Esmaiel Maghsodhu (Cat C) 35 lakhs Patna Pirates Iran
Dong Geon Lee (Cat C) 25 lakhs U Mumba Republic of Korea

Top 5 Raiders Category A

Player Name Price Team
Siddharth Desai 1.45 crore Telugu Titans
Nitin Tomar 1.20 crore Puneri Paltan
Rahul Cahudhary 94 lakhs Tamil Thalaivas
Monu Goyat 93 lakhs U.P.Yodhas
Prashant K Rai 77 lakhs Haryana Steelers

Top 5 Defenders Category A

Player Name Price Team
Mahinder Singh 80 lakhs Bengaluru Bulls
Surender Nada 77 lakhs Patna Pirates
Parvesh Bhainswal 75 lakhs Gujarat Fortunegiants
Ravinder Pahal 61 lakhs Dabang Delhi K.C
Vishal Bharadwaj 60 lakhs Telugu Titans

Top 5 Category B Players

Player Name Price Team
Manjeet 63 Lakhs Puneri Paltan
K. Prapanjan 55.5 Lakhs Bengal Warriors
Mohit Chillar 45 Lakhs Tamil Thailaivas
Vijay 41 Lakhs Dabang Delhi
Dharmaraj Cheralathan 38.5 Lakhs Haryana Steelers
Player Name Price Team
Manjeet 63 lakhs Puneri Paltan
K Prapanjan 55.5 lakhs Bengal Warriors
Mohit Chhillar 45 lakhs Tamil Thalaivas
Rohit Baliyan 35 Lakhs U Mumba
Pawan Kumar Baliyan 20 lakhs Puneri Paltan

Top 5 Defenders Category B

Player Name Price Team
Vishal Mane 28.5 lakhs Dabang Delhi K.C
Dharmaraj Cheranlathan 38.5 lakhs Haryana Steelers
Ruturaj Shivaji Koravi 30.5 lakhs Gujarat Fortunegiants
Ravi Kumar 20 lakhs Haryana Steelers
Sunil Siddhgavali 20 lakhs Jaipur Pink Panthers

Top 5 All-rounders Category A and B

Player Name Price Team
Sandeep Narwal 89 lakhs U Mumba
Ran Singh 55Lakhs Tamil Thalaivas
Vijay 41 lakhs Dabang Delhi K.C
Vinod Kumar 26 lakhs Gujarat Fortunegiants
Rohit Gulia 25 lakhs Gujarat Fortunegiants
Team Players Retained via 'Final Bid Match'
Bengaluru Bulls Mahender Singh
Dabang Delhi K.C Chandran Ranjit and Ravinder Pahal
Patna Pirates Jaideep
Puneri Paltan Nitin Tomar and Girish Ernak
Telugu Titans Vishal Bhardwaj and Abozar
U Mumba Rohit Baliyan
Gujarat Fortunegiants Parvesh Bhainswal
U.P Yoddha Rishank Devadiga and Shrikant Jadhav