Pro Kabaddi League 2021: Auction to take place from August 29 to 31

Pro Kabaddi League (PKL) on Friday announced the 'Elite Retained Players', 'Retained Young Players' and 'New Young Players' list for the upcoming eighth season ahead of the player auctions.

A total of 59 players were retained across all 3 categories with 22 in the Elite Retained Players (ERP) category, 6 in the Retained Young Players (RYP) category, and 31 in the New Young Players (NYP) category as teams begin assembling their squads for season eight slated to take place in December.

The non-retained players including all squad players from PKL seasons 6 and 7 will go under the hammer at the auctions in Mumbai from August 29 to 31. PKL is organised by Mashal Sports.

"Preserving the spirit of squad continuity and team dynamics, the Pro Kabaddi League has maintained its Player Retention Policy, benefitting players and teams alike," said Anupam Goswami, League Commissioner, Pro Kabaddi and CEO, Mashal Sports.

"The excitement among viewers and fans this year is palpable, and we are confident of delivering a stellar Season 8 of the Pro Kabaddi League," he added.

This time around, the pool of talent retained by the teams is a mixture of young and experienced players. Defending champions Bengal Warriors have retained their captain Maninder Singh along with one of the main heroes of the PKL 7 Final -- Mohammed Esmaeil Nabibaksh.

Top points scorer of PKL 7 Pawan Kumar Sehrawat has been retained by Bengaluru Bulls for a second consecutive season. The MVP of PKL 7, Naveen Kumar, has been retained by Dabang Delhi K.C. under the 'Retained Young Players' category.

Experienced players like Fazel Atrachali (U Mumba), Parvesh Bhainswal and Sunil Kumar (Gujarat Giants), Vikash Khandola (Haryana Steelers), and Nitesh Kumar (U.P.Yoddha) have been retained by their respective teams.

Fan favorites including Pardeep Narwal, Deepak Hooda, Rahul Chaudhari, Siddharth Desai, and Rohit Kumar will be part of the player pool, thus adding more excitement to the upcoming player auction.

Star Sports and Disney+ Hotstar are the official broadcasters and OTT partners of the Pro Kabaddi League. The Category A domestic players auction will be broadcast live on August 30 on the Star Sports Network and Disney+ Hotstar.