The Vivo Pro Kabaddi League (PKL) has revolutionized one of India’s most enjoyable indigenous sports and elevated numerous kabaddi players from all over the country to a prominent position. Teams’ demand for players at every PKL auction has been evidence of Kabaddi’s growing appeal.
As the PKL season progresses, teams have been more willing to pay top dollar to acquire the services of their desired players, with seven players reaching the crore mark.
When he was acquired by U Mumba before Season 6, Iranian defender Fazel Atrachali became the first player in PKL history to reach the one-crore milestone. Puneri Paltan paid INR 1.38 crore to sign Fazel, making him the most expensive defender in PKL history at the time. Fazel would go on to break his own record. In addition, he was acquired by Gujarat Giants for INR 1.60 crore before Season 10, making him the only player in PKL history to cross the crore threshold three times.
On the other side, Puneri Paltan’s acquisition of Atrachali’s countryman Mohammadreza Shadloui Ciyaneh for INR 2.35 crore during the Season 10 Player Auction makes him the most expensive foreign player in PKL history.
Meanwhile, the first player in the PKL to be signed for two crores was Pawan Kumar Sehrawat. Before Season 10, Tamil Thalaivas risked everything to secure the star raider for INR 2.26 crore. Sehrawat made history in the Season 10 Player Auction when he went to the Telugu Titans for an INR 2.605 crore bid, making him the most expensive player in PKL history once more.
In the PKL, kabaddi players have been acquired for more than one crore on 17 occasions overall.
But even in the league’s early years, teams were making significant player auction buys long before PKL’s crore club was established.
After each season’s auctions, we take a look back at the most expensive players in Pro Kabaddi. Seasons 2 and 3 of Pro League Baseball did not have auctions before them, but for the remaining editions, teams spent a lot of money in an attempt to acquire the top players.
| Player | Team | Fee | Season |
| Pawan Kumar Sehrawat | Telugu Titans | INR 2.605 crore | Season 10 |
| Mohammadreza Ciyaneh | Puneri Paltan | INR 2.35 crore | Season 10 |
| Pawan Kumar Sehrawat | Tamil Thalaivas | INR 2.26 crore | Season 9 |
| Maninder Singh | Bengal Warriors | INR 2.12 crore | Season 10 |
| Vikash Kandola | Bengaluru Bulls | INR 1.70 crore | Season 9 |
| Fazel Atrachali | Gujarat Giants | INR 1.60 crore | Season 10 |
| Pardeep Narwal | U.P. Yoddha | INR 1.65 crore | Season 8 |
| Monu Goyat | Haryana Steelers | INR 1.51 crore | Season 6 |
| Siddharth Desai | Telugu Titans | INR 1.45 crore | Season 7 |
| Fazel Atrachali | Puneri Paltan | INR 1.38 crore | Season 9 |
| Rahul Chaudhari | Telugu Titans | INR 1.29 crore | Season 6 |
| Guman Singh | U Mumba | INR 1.22 crore | Season 9 |
| Nitin Tomar | Puneri Paltan | INR 1.20 crore | Season 7 |
| Deepak Hooda | Jaipur Pink Panthers | INR 1.15 crore | Season 6 |
| Siddharth Desai | Haryana Steelers | INR 1 crore | Season 10 |
In the first auction, Rakesh Kumar was the most expensive player. The Patna Pirates paid INR 12.80 lakh for the all-round player.
Rakesh played in just four games that season and finished with a mere 17 points overall, but the Pirates were still able to make it to the competition semi-final.
Bengaluru Bulls bought Mohit Chhillar for INR 53 lakh during the Season 4 auction, which was four times his base price.
That season, Mohit Chhillar finished as the third-best defender in the league with 47 tackle points. The Bulls, on the other hand, came in sixth in the standings and missed out on making the playoffs.
In the inaugural PKL season, UP Yoddha bought Nitin Tomar for INR 93 lakh. He is one of the most expensive players in Pro Kabaddi, having drawn multiple bids exceeding one crore following his Season 5 exploits.
In the fifth PKL season, Tomar had an incredible season with UP Yoddha, racking up 167 raid points in 20 games. The team advanced to the postseason but lost the elimination round.
Star raider Monu Goyat was hired by the Haryana Steelers for INR 1.51 crore during the PKL Season 6 auctions.
He was the Patna Pirates’ PKL title holder and scored 160 raid points for Haryana in Season 6 before joining UP Yoddha in time for the seventh edition. In Season 6, the Haryana Steelers placed last in Zone A.
Telugu Titans bought Siddharth Desai at the PKL 7 auction. With 218 raid points in his debut season with U Mumba, he had a fantastic campaign. His first-ever PKL campaign persuaded Telugu Titans to pay a staggering INR 1.45 crore—nearly 33 percent of their budget—to acquire Siddharth “Bahubali” Desai.
With 217 raid points at the end of Season 7, he currently holds the second position among Pro Kabaddi’s most expensive players. In the 12-team league, Telugu Titans concluded their season in 11th place.
At INR 1.65 crore, “Dubki King” Pardeep Narwal became the most expensive signing in PKL history when he signed with U.P. Yoddha. Since making his PKL debut in 2015, Narwal has played for three different teams after spending five seasons with the Patna Pirates.
Pardeep Narwal increased his total number of raid points to 1,348 points in Season 8 after scoring 188 points. However, U.P. Yoddha lost to Patna Pirates, and he ended the season as a semi-finalist.
For Pro Kabaddi Season 9, Pawan Kumar Sehrawat became the first player in PKL history to earn two crores, after Tamil Thalaivas placed a record-breaking INR 2.26 crore bid to sign him.
Pawan Kumar Sehrawat, one of the competition’s most prolific raiders, joins his new team having amassed 986 raid points and 49 Super 10s in 104 games.
Similar to Season 9, Pawan Sehrawat was the most expensive acquisition before Season 10 of Pro Kabaddi, having been signed by Telugu Titans through a record-breaking bid at the auction.
Pawan Sehrawat was once again the most expensive player in PKL history, but his stock remained high after he sustained an injury that prevented him from playing in Season 9.
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