Pune: Stage is getting ready for the Pro Kabaddi League Season 6 with 422 players going under hammer in the player auctions slated on May 30 and 31 in Mumbai.
Out of 422 players, 58 are overseas players and 87 are players from the Future Kabaddi Heroes Programme (FKH), a nationwide talent scouting program.
Overseas players are from Iran, Bangladesh, Japan, Kenya, Korea, Malaysia and Sri Lanka.
The League has introduced the concept of ‘Final Bid Match’, whereby the franchises would be entitled to match the final bid made by another franchise, for one or at most two players from its Season 5 squad, in accordance with the guidelines set in the Player Policy.
The two-day auction will mark the first event for Season 6, with the franchises coming together to build their teams. Out of the 12 franchises, nine have chosen their Elite Retained Players and the remaining three will construct their teams from scratch.
‘The player auction for Pro Kabaddi Season 6 will be the culmination of the player policy for the upcoming Season, which has been designed for long term association as well as even redistribution of athletic talent,” said Anupam Goswami, League Commissioner, VIVO Pro Kabaddi.
“It epitomises the continuing advancement in Pro Kabaddi for quality of competition, along with the right balance between compensation to athletes and affordability for their employers”.
“The League has consistently set high standards in terms of quality of play, policy and growth of the sport. There has been continuous effort towards strengthening the Kabaddi ecosystem and providing significant opportunity for aspiring talent to grow and develop,” said an AKFI spokesperson.
“The Season 6 auctions will be yet another milestone in the way the federation has worked with Star, Mashal Sports, and the franchises to improve the competitive standards of the League,” the spokesperson said.
“We are unwavering in our efforts to grow VIVO Pro Kabaddi, as well as Kabaddi as a sport,” the AKFI Spokesperson elaborated.
Guidelines for Franchisees
A franchise may choose between 18-25 players to form a team.
A team can choose up to three players from the Future Kabaddi Heroes 2018 programme
If a team has four ‘Elite Retained Players’, they can exercise 1 ‘Final Bid Match’ option in open auction.
If a team has less than four ‘Elite Retained Players’, they can exercise 2 ‘Final Bid Match’ options in open auction.
Number of overseas players in a team may vary from 2 to 4.
The total salary purse available to each Franchisee is Rs 4 Crores