The player auction for Pro Kabaddi League Season 12 will likely happen in the third week of May. PKL, India’s second most popular franchise league, is set for its 12th edition this year. The player auction is the first big event before the season begins, where teams bid on players hoping to sign top talent.
The auction is expected to take place between May 18 and 25. This timeframe works well for the league’s broadcasters, Star Sports and JioHotstar.
Sports fans are watching the event closely on TV and online. The league matches will end on May 18. After that, there will be a one-day break before the playoffs begin. This break could be the perfect time for the PKL auction during the summer holidays.
PKL teams stay active all year. Some teams like Tamil Thalaivas, Patna Pirates, and Jaipur Pink Panthers have already made coaching changes after Haryana Steelers won their first title in Season 11. Tamil Thalaivas also let go of some top players after hiring title-winning coach Sanjeev Kumar Baliyan.
The tournament organisers may have shared this plan with the teams. They have released a player category list for PKL 12, which helps teams decide which players to keep and what their prices will be. Now, everyone is waiting to see who will be retained and which stars will be up for grabs in the auction.
Haryana Steelers won the PKL season 11 title, and now fans are wondering if they will keep Mohammadreza Shadlooi. Strangely, the team that won season 10 let him go before last year’s auction, and they didn’t reach the playoffs.
Pardeep Narwal, Sachin Tanwar, and Krishan Dhull didn’t perform well last season. Top players like Maninder Singh and Naveen Kumar also struggled with poor form and fitness. It will be interesting to see what the teams decide to do with these players.