Pro Kabaddi League Auction: At Rs 93 Lakh, Nitin Tomar Becomes Highest Paid Player

May 23, 2017

New Delhi, May 23: Iran's Abozar Mohajermighani has become the costliest foreign buy in this year's Pro Kabaddi League players auction after he was bought by new franchise Gujarat for Rs 50 lakh while India's Nitin Tomar attracted the highest overall bid.

Nitin

Besides Abozar, other foreign players who attracted good bids at last night's auction are Iran's Abolfazel Maghsodlo (Delhi, Rs 31.8 lakh), Iran's Farhad Rahimi Milaghardhan (Telugu Titans, Rs 29 lakh), Thailand's Khomsan Thongkham (Haryana, Rs 20.4 lakh) and Iran's Hadi Oshtorak (U Mumba, Rs 18.6 lakh).

Nitin attracted the highest bid at this year's auction by Team UP for an amount of Rs 93 lakh against his base price of Rs 20 lakh .

This is a whopping increase of 626 per cent compared to the bid price of Rs 12.80 lakh for Rakesh Kumar, the costliest player in the opening season auctions.

Besides Nitin, other local players to have fetched impressive prices are Rohit Kumar (Bengaluru Bulls, Rs 81 lakh), Manjeet Chhillar (Jaipur Pink Panthers, Rs 75.5 lakh), Surjeet Singh (Bengal Warriors, Rs 73 lakh) and Selvamani K (Jaipur Pink Panthers, Rs 73 lakh).

The first day of the two-day auction netted a total price of Rs 27.27 crore for 60 players selected.

Twelve franchises came together, in an intense bidding war, to piece together teams.

For the elite retained players, the final salary was determined on the team's highest spend on a player during the auction.

Each franchise was permitted to retain one elite player, either from the domestic or overseas categories, from their respective Season 4 squads.

Among them are Kabaddi stars Rahul Chaudhari (Telugu Titans), Anup Kumar (U Mumba), Jang Kun Lee (Bengal Warriors), Ashish Kumar (Bengaluru Bulls), Meraj Sheykh (Dabang Delhi K.C), Pardeep Narwal (Patna Pirates) and Deepak Hooda (Puneri Paltan). Jaipur Pink Panthers was the only existing franchise that did not retain any player from Season 4.

The new franchises were permitted one priority pick before the auction. Team Haryana had the opportunity to pick first and they went for Surender Nada, part of the Indian team that lifted the 2016 Kabaddi World Cup. Team Gujarat picked Fazel Atrachali of Iran whilst Team UP chose not to pick any priority player.

"This is a new chapter in the history of VIVO Pro Kabaddi, our largest ever player auction with an enormous auction purse and the biggest talent pool, from all over the country and the rest of the world. With new introductions, such as dynamic pricing, it was encouraging to see the teams strategising to constitute robust teams with a focus on lifting the coveted Season 5 trophy," said Anupam Goswami, League Commissioner, Pro Kabaddi League.I

The auctions were preceded by a draft pick for new young players, scouted from across the country.

The first three to be selected were Rohit Gulia (19), Bhavani Rajput (22) and Mayur Shivtarkar (21).

The second day of the auction, will see players from Indian players from category A, B, C and D, as franchises begin to see their team take shape before the season begins on July 28 across 12 cities, with over 130 matches across 13 weeks.

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June 10,2020

Kingston, Jun 10: "Enough is enough", said West Indies all-rounder Dwayne Bravo as he opened up on the raging issue of racism and called for "respect and equality" for black people, who have faced discrimination for years.

Bravo joined the likes of his former captain Darren Sammy and Chris Gayle in denouncing racism in the wake of African-American George Floyd's killing at the hands of a white police officer in the USA.

"It's sad to see what's going on around the world. As a black man, we know the history of what black people have been through. We never ask for revenge, we ask for equality and respect. That's it," Bravo told former Zimbabwe cricketer Pommie Mbangwa in an Instagram live chat on Tuesday.

"We give respect to others. Why is it that we are facing this over and over? Now enough is enough. We just want equality. We don't want revenge, war.

"We just want respect. We share love and appreciate people for who they are. That's what is most important."

The 36-year-old, who has played 40 Tests, 164 ODIs and 71 T20Is for West Indies, said he wants the world to know that they are powerful and beautiful people and gave the example of greats such as Nelson Mandela, Muhammad Ali, Michael Jordan.

"I just want our brothers and sisters to know that we are powerful and beautiful. And at the end of the day, you look at some of the greats of the world, whether it is Nelson Mandela, Muhammad Ali, Michael Jordan we have had leaders who paved the way for us," he said.

Two-time T20 World Cup-winning captain Sammy had earlier alleged that a racist nickname was used to address him during his IPL stint with Sunrisers Hyderabad and demanded an apology.

Sammy said he was called 'Kalu' while he was in India. 'Kalu' is a derogatory word to describe black people.

Gayle, who too plays in the IPL, took to Twitter to back Sammy, saying that racism does exist in cricket.

"It's never too late to fight for the right cause or what you've experienced over the years! So much more to your story, @darensammy88. Like I said, it's in the game!!," Gayle tweeted.

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June 10,2020

New Delhi, Jun 10: Former India skipper Rahul Dravid has praised the batting of MS Dhoni during the backend of a match, saying that the wicket-keeper often played during the period as if the result did not really matter to him.

Dravid also said that in pressure-cooker situations, not worrying about consequences can help players bring out the best in themselves.

"You watch MS Dhoni play during the backend of a match when he was at his best, you always felt like that he is doing something really important to him but he is playing it like the result does not really matter to him," Dravid told Sanjay Manjrekar during a videocast hosted by ESPNCricinfo.

"I think you need to have that or you need to train for it. It is a skill that I never had. The consequences of any decision mattered to me. It would be interesting to ask MS Dhoni that is this something that has come naturally to him or did he work on this during his career," he added.

Dhoni made his ODI debut against Bangladesh in 2004, but he truly arrived in the series against Pakistan in 2005 when he scored 148 runs in the second ODI of the six-match series at Vishakapatnam.

He is the only captain to win all major ICC trophies (50-over World Cup, T20 World Cup, and Champions Trophy). Under his leadership, India also managed to attain the number one ranking in Test cricket.

He first led an inexperienced Indian side to the T20 World Cup triumph in 2007. He then took over ODI captaincy, but he had to wait for leading the Test side as Anil Kumble was doing the duties in the longest format.

Over his career, Dhoni has been reowned for his finishing skills and he is often viewed as the best finisher that the game has ever seen.

In December 2014, Dhoni announced his retirement from the longest format of the game.

Then in 2017, Dhoni handed over the captaincy reins to Virat Kohli in the 50-over format.

Dhoni was slated to return to the cricket field on March 29 in the IPL's opening match between CSK and Mumbai Indians. However, the tournament has been suspended indefinitely as a precautionary measure against coronavirus.

Thirty-eight-year-old Dhoni has been currently enjoying some time away from the game. He last played competitive cricket during the 2019 World Cup.

Dhoni recently had to face criticism for his slow batting approach during India's matches.

Earlier this year, Dhoni did not find a place in the list of BCCI's centrally contracted players from October 2019 to September 2020.

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April 13,2020

Apr 13: Former India opener Gautam Gambhir says if IPL is not played this year, it will be difficult for Mahendra Singh Dhoni to make a comeback to the Indian team.

Dhoni last played for India in the World Cup semi-final against New Zealand in July last year.

Since then he hasn't played any competitive cricket and legends such as Sunil Gavaskar and Kapil Dev have already said that it's getting increasingly difficult for the Jharkhand dasher to make an international return after such a prolonged sabbatical.

He was expected to be seen in action at this year's IPL but the chances of T20 league being played are remote due to the COVID-19.

"If the IPL does not happen this year, then it will become very difficult for MS Dhoni to make a comeback. On what basis can he (Dhoni) be selected since he’s not been playing for the last one or one and a half year," Gambhir said on Star Sports show 'Cricket Connected'.

The 38-year-old Gambhir picked KL Rahul, who has been keeping in ODIs, as an "apt replacement" for Dhoni.

Read: Coronavirus India update: State-wise total number of confirmed cases, deaths

"Obviously his (Rahul's) keeping is not as good as Dhoni’s, but if you are looking at T20 cricket, Rahul's a utility player, can keep and bat at No. 3 or 4. If the IPL does not happen, then Dhoni’s chances for a comeback look dim.

"Ultimately, you are representing India, so whoever dishes out the best performance and can win the match for India should play for the team," added Gambhir.

The southpaw also felt that retirement was Dhoni's personal decision.

"As far as his retirement plans go by, that's his personal choice," said Gambhir.

However, his former teammate and test specialist VVS Laxman feels that Dhoni can continue playing IPL.

"Not only this IPL, he (Dhoni) will probably play in the next couple of IPLs, and then we will take a call about his future as a cricketer," Laxman said on the same show.

However, Laxman, a veteran of 134 Tests, said that the new selection committee, chaired by former spinner Sunil Joshi, will have to discuss Dhoni's future with him.

"Dhoni will be very clear, as far as his plans are concerned, I'm sure he must have communicated that with (captain) Virat Kohli, (coach) Ravi Shastri immediately after the 2019 World Cup in England," said Laxman.

"The new selection committee will have to sit down with MS Dhoni and understand his future, as far as Indian cricket is concerned. But MS Dhoni will continue to play for CSK and do well for CSK," said Laxman, who amassed 8,781 Test runs.

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