PKL 12 Auction: Harayana Steelers rope in Naveen Kumar for massive 1.20 Cr

Naveen Kumar was released by Dabang Delhi after six seasons.

After six seasons with Dabang Delhi, Naveen Kumar will now be seen in a new avatar as the reigning champions Haryana Steelers roped in the star raider for massive 1.20 Cr at the the Pro Kabaddi League Season 12 (PKL 12) auction on Saturday.

The pre-auction predictions showed that Naveen Kumar’s injury concern is a major factor teams will be considering while bidding. It was evident in the auction, with teams not showing great interest in the Indian skipper, Pawan Sehrawat, who went for just 59.50 lakhs.

Naveen Kumar was listed in Category B, with a base price of 20 lakhs only. He came up as the last player for the first day of the auction. But they say form is temporary and class is permanent as all many teams were interested in him. Everyone was excited to find the new junction where the Express was heading into. Just like how the day went, Telugu Titans were just to raise the paddle with a bid of 50 lakhs.

Dabang Delhi, having already retained Ashu Malik, wanted their other raider as well. It was Jaipur Pink Panthers’ turn for another bumper as they made a bid of 75 lakhs. Haryana Steelers joined the race,e making him a crorepati quickly.

U Mumba was eager to get the Express to DOME at NSCI as they were involved in a fiery bidding with Haryana Steelers. Manpreet was determined to get him as he increased it to 1.20 cr. The bid sealed the deal as Naveen Express moved from Delhi to Haryana to start a new journey.

‘Naveen Express’ stellar performance for Dabang Delhi

They say marriages are made in heaven, and the one between Dabang Delhi KC and Naveen Kumar Goyat must have come from the same place. Despite boasting stars like Kashling Adake, Delhi couldn’t make it to the playoffs even once in the first five seasons.

They needed to breathe fresh air, and an Express arrived at the national capital. Delhi signed Naveen Kumar, and the youngster was impressive in his debut season, scoring 177 points in 22 games. His versatility and ease with which he scored were great to watch, and he was rightfully retained at just 30 lakhs ahead of the season seven.

Dabang Delhi lifted their maiden title ft. Naveen Kumar

The man retained at the base price became the Most Valuable Player, scoring 303 points in season seven. He helped Delhi become the Pro Kabaddi League champions for the first time, beating Bengal Warriorz. In the 23 games he played for, he scored Super 10s in 22 games, showing unbelievable consistency. It included a massive 18-point performance in the finals.

He has been retained by Dabang Delhi KC since then, and he has repaid the faith every season. Seasons eight and nine saw him easily break the 200-point mark. He also became the fastest player to breach the 600-point mark. The last two seasons haven’t gone the way he expected, as injury has cut short his season on both occasions.

In season 10, he started off brilliantly, scoring 72 points in six games before an injury in the Chennai leg ruled him out of the season. He came back next season, but his performance dropped a bit as the injury concern remained on the Naveen Express. The 25-year-old would want to get his fitness to the top level, and help Steelers defend the title.

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