Mumbai: A total of 59 players have been retained ahead of season 8 of the Pro Kabaddi League, which will take place in December, the league organisers Mashal Sports announced on Friday.
"A total of 59 players were retained across all three categories with 22 in the Elite Retained Players (ERP) category, six in the Retained Young Players (RYP) category, and 31 in the New Young Players (NYP) category as the teams begin assembling their squads for season 8 slated to take place in December," said a release issued by the PKL.
"The non-retained players including all squad players from PKL seasons six and seven will go under the hammer at the auctions in Mumbai from August 29 to 31."
Defending champions Bengal Warriors have retained their captain Maninder Singh along with one of the main heroes of the PKL 7 final Mohammed Esmaeil Nabibaksh.
Top points scorer of PKL 7, Pawan Kumar Sehrawat has been retained by Bengaluru Bulls for a second consecutive season, while Naveen Kumar has been retained by Dabang Delhi K.C. under the 'Retained Young Players' category.
Experienced players like Fazel Atrachali (U Mumba), Parvesh Bhainswal and Sunil Kumar (Gujarat Giants), Vikash Khandola (Haryana Steelers), and Nitesh Kumar (U.P. Yoddha) have also been retained by their respective teams.
PTI
