Youngsters favoured by Pro Kabaddi League teams

MUMBAI: Pro Kabaddi League's stock has gone up considerably over the years. The viewership for last season's final was 26.2 million, the highest for a non-cricket match in India. These numbers have justified the market for players as six players went for more than Rs 1 crore (total money spent being 45.93 crore) in comparison to last season's highest being Rs 93 lakhs. But at the end of auctions in Mumbai, one would come to a conclusion that to convince team owners, a player should not only be fit and agile but also be young enough in order to survive the 13-week-long tournament.

The crorepatis who were sold on Day 1, not only had skill but also had age on their side. The average age of the top buys was 24.5. Though Rahul Chaudhari did not have a stellar season last time, he went for Rs 1. 29 crore. With the introduction of 'New Young Players' category, a team can choose up to three players who will be aged between 18 and 22. 87 such players from Future Heroes Programme went under the hammer and 17 were picked for a fixed price of Rs 6.6 lakh. Gujarat Fortunegiants, runner-up PKL season 5, picked up as many as three and have more than six players under 22.

“It’s good to have youngsters in your team as they are more fit and agile. When you have players who can play for a longer duration, it’s an advantage. Though experience matters, you can rely on youngsters who won’t face fitness issues like senior pros” Kailash Kandpal, CEO of Puneri Paltans told Express.

The price of senior players has remarkably gone down. When an experienced player like Anup Kumar, who had captained India previously, did not see much of a tussle between teams and ended up with Rs 30 lakh, the media room was left stunned.

Same was the case of Manjeet Chillar who went for Rs 20 lakh to Tamil Thalaivas and Jasvir Singh for his base price of Rs 12 lakh. Rakesh Kumar, former India vice-captain aged 36, was unsold.

But there were a few exceptions in players like Dharmaraj Cheralathan and Prashant Kumar Rai for whom age is not being a barrier. Despite being 34 and 46, they earned Rs 79 lakh and Rs 46 lakh.

"A team needs a mix of both young and experienced players to strike a balance. Last time we didn't have that and that's why we ended up at 11th position. A player like Manjeet can guide young guns. The reason why many teams wouldn't prefer to have too many senior players is because of the length of the tournament. Injuries are bound to happen. That's when you need both set of players to be consistent," opined Tamil Thalaivas head coach Edacherry Bhaskaran.

srinidhi@newindianexpress.com