PKL 11 Auction: Young Guman Singh fetches big amount, signed by Gujarat Giants
Guman Singh was the number #1 raider for U Mumba in the last two seasons.
Exciting Indian raider Guman Singh has been picked up by the Gujarat Giants for a whopping cost of Rs 1.97 Cr at the Pro Kabaddi League PKL 11 auction. He will be sharing raiding duties with the likes of Rakesh and Parteek Dahiya.
The PKL 11 Auction is being conducted today and tomorrow, in Mumbai. More than 500 players, with varied skillsets have been up for grabs. With only 88 players (which includes 22 Elite Retained Players) being retained by the 12 franchisees, it has been a blockbuster evening. Stars of modern-day kabaddi, including the likes of Pawan Sehrawat, Mohammadreza Shadloui, among others, went under the hammer.
Guman was U Mumba’s highest scoring raider in the previous season. In fact, he put in a sensational performance, amassing 163 raid points in 18 matches, with 9 super 10s. However, he had to miss a few matches due to an injury. His absence cost the Mumbai-based franchisee dear, as they finished a disappointing tenth in the table.
Also Read: PKL 11 Auction Live Updates
The bidding started with Telugu Titans choosing to start at Rs 50 lakhs, rather than the prescribed base price of Rs 30 lakhs for Category A raiders. This was clearly a strategy from the Titans to raise the price, as they used the same strategy a number of times tonight, dropping off after quoting a high price.
The bidding war was soon between Gujarat Giants and UP Yoddhas. There were moments of hesitation and intense discussions taking place, towards the end. Finally, the Yoddhas opted out. The Giants won the bid at Rs 1.97 Cr. With U Mumba not having the required budget to exercise the FBM for Guman, he officially became a Giant for the first time.
Interestingly, U Mumba had bought back Guman in the auction last time around using the FBM card.
Guman started off his PKL career with the Jaipur Pink Panthers in season 7, but could only play in three matches and had a meagre tally of five points.
He had a breakout season next time around, with 95 raid points in 19 matches for the Patna Pirates. He made everyone stand up and watch, with his skills, but couldn’t get enough opportunities as the team included star raiders like Sachin Tanwar, Rohit Gulia and Monu Goyat. The Pirates, who lost the final that year by one point, released the Gurgaon lad ahead of the auction for the nineth season.
Guman had done enough to catch the attention of various teams, as he entered the one crore club in the auction. Finally, it was U Mumba who managed to secure his services.
In his first season in orange, Guman had to take up the responsibility of leading an inexperienced raiding unit. That, along with injury concerns, resulted in inconsistent performances as he scored 137 raid points in 18 matches. However, he was the highest scoring raider for U Mumba, who eventually finished nineth in the table.
He was released by his team, but was bought back using the FBM for the tenth season. He was much more consistent this time. However, he was again released, ahead of the eleventh season.
Guman has shown enough promise and signs that he can lead a raiding unit. He could help in forming a lethal trio at the Gujarat Giants. However, they will be hoping that the 25-year-old, who has visibly been injury-prone, will be fit for the entire season.
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