Nitin Tomar costliest buy at Pro Kabaddi Season 5, Pakistani players ignored

New Delhi: The fifth edition of Pro Kabaddi League (PKL) is all set to begin in June 2017. This season will feature 12 teams as four new teams have been added to the competition.

Raider Nitin Tomar emerged the costliest buy at the auctions on Monday, upstaging the likes of raider Rohit Kumar bought by Bengaluru Bulls for Rs 81 lakh, Manjeet Chillar, who went for Rs 75.5 lakh by Jaipur Pink Panthers, and defender Surjit, who was acquired by Bengal Warriors for Rs 73 lakh.

The 22-year-old from Baghpat's Malikpur village was snapped up by Team Uttar Pradesh after an intense battle with Telugu Titans for Rs 93 lakh.

The auction is taking place in New Delhi with over 400 players set to participate in the fifth season.

Players have been divided into four categories -A, B, C and D - depending on their performance. The base price in Category A is Rs 20 lakh, while those in Categories B, C and D have a base price of Rs 12, Rs 8 and Rs 5 lakh, respectively.

Each of the 12 franchises has a total purse of Rs 4 crore, excluding the amount spent on the player retained.

Just before the Pro Kabaddi League’s third auction could start, Minister of Youth Affairs and Sport Vijay Goel asserted that no player from Pakistan will be allowed to compete at the marquee event. "They can call them but they can’t make them play. Even if they are selected, it is the Government of India which will decide whether they are allowed or not. Unless Pakistan gets rid of terrorism, it is impossible to play with Pakistan,” he told reporters.

A total of 10 players from Pakistan were added to the list of players in the auction.

Pakistan is one of the 16 countries whose players are listed in the auction for this season but none of the franchises will bid for them.