The second day of the vivo Pro Kabaddi Season 8 player auction threw up some surprises while delivering a whole lot of excitement. Record-breaker Pardeep Narwal’s departure from Patna Pirates to join U.P. Yoddha was undoubtedly one of the biggest highlights of the day. On the way he set another record by becoming the most expensive player in vivo Pro Kabaddi history with a price tag of INR 1.65 Crore.

Another fiery raider, Siddharth Desai, who was the previous season's most expensive buy at the auctions, also managed to go past the INR 1 crore mark. U.P. Yoddha were all set to snap up the ‘Baahubali’ but Telugu Titans swooped in at the last minute with their Final Bid Match (FBM) card to retain him in the team.

Patna Pirates went big on raider Sachin, who was previously one of the mainstays of Gujarat Giants. Sachin, Manjeet, and Rohit Gulia rounded off the list for the 5 most expensive buys of the day. While Manjeet’s services were taken up by Tamil Thalaivas, Rohit Gulia will be seen raiding alongside Vikash Kandola at Haryana Steelers. It was clearly a day where youth was given the nod ahead of experience.

Among the other big names, Showman Rahul Chaudhari was snapped up by Puneri Paltan where he will play under the guidance of coach Anup Kumar. Bengaluru Bulls’ Season 6 winning captain Rohit Kumar was picked up by Telugu Titans where he will look to form a formidable raiding duo with Siddharth Desai. Deepak Hooda, one of the top all-rounders of the league and the third-highest overall raid point scorer was bought back by Jaipur Pink Panthers using the first of their two FBM cards. The second was used for Corner Sandeep Kumar Dhull. After the retention of Amit Hooda, Jaipur Pink Panthers have managed to keep the core of their team similar to what it was in Season 7.

Cover Surjeet Singh, who holds the record for the most High 5s in vivo Pro Kabaddi, was the most expensive defender to be sold on Day 2 for a price of INR 75 lakh. He was recruited by Tamil Thalaivas. Joining him in the list of the most expensive defenders to be auctioned so far were veteran Ravinder Pahal and young Vishal Bhardwaj. Pahal will be seen strengthening the Gujarat Giants defence who retained the formidable Cover combination of Sunil Kumar and Parvesh Bhainswal. Meanwhile, Bhardwaj will be seen opposite Baldev Singh in Puneri Paltan’s defensive setup.

One of the surprises of the day came when Mohammadreza Shadloui Chiyaneh became the most expensive overseas player to be bought in this auction. Patna Pirates bought the Iranian all-rounder for a price of INR 31 Lakh.

With 2 days done and a lot of slots still to be filled by teams, the final day promises to have some electrifying action and intense bidding wars as all the franchises look to add the final touches on their squads for Season 8.

Most expensive raiders of Day 2:

  1. Pardeep Narwal - U.P. Yoddha
  2. Siddharth Desai - Telugu Titans
  3. Manjeet - Tamil Thalaivas

Most expensive defenders of Day 2:

  1. PO Surjeet Singh - Tamil Thalaivas
  2. Ravinder Pahal - Gujarat Giants
  3. Vishal Bhardwaj - Puneri Paltan

Most expensive all-rounders of Day 2:

  1. Rohit Gulia - Haryana Steelers
  2. Sandeep Narwal - Dabang Delhi K.C.
  3. Deepak Hooda - Jaipur Pink Panthers

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Pro Kabaddi League Season 8, 2021KabaddiNewsEnglish