A file image of Pro Kabaddi League season 5.
The auctions for season six of Pro Kabaddi League (PKL) will be held in Mumbai on May 30 and 31 with a total of 422 players set to go under the hammer.
Of the 422 players who will be drafted into the auction pool, 58 are overseas players and 87 are from the Future Kabaddi Heroes Programme (FKH), a nationwide talent scouting programme, a press release said.
The auction will witness player representation from 14 other countries, including Iran, Bangladesh, Japan, Kenya, the Republic of Korea, Malaysia, Sri Lanka.
Of the 12 franchises, nine have chosen their elite retained players while the remaining three will construct their teams from scratch.
The league has introduced the concept of "Final Bid Match", whereby the franchises shall be entitled to match the final bid made by another franchise, for one or at most two players from its season-V squad, in accordance with the guidelines set in the player policy, the release said.
Pro Kabbadi League Commissioner Anupam Goswami said: "The player auction for VIVO Pro Kabaddi Season VI will be the culmination of the player policy for the upcoming season, which has been designed for long-term association, as well as even redistribution of athletic talent."
Twenty-one players from the fifth season have been retained by their respective franchises for the coming season.
The Tamil Thalaivas, co-owned among others by cricket maestro Sachin Tendulkar, has retained Ajay Thakur, Amit Hooda and C Arun.
