PKL Season 13 Auction 2026: Date, Purse & Players List
Somewhere right now, twelve team owners are quietly making lists. Who do we keep? Who do we let go? Who do we fight for at the auction, even if it means spending half our budget on one player?
This year they have had longer than usual to think about it. Season 12 ended on October 31, 2025, and normally the next auction would have come by mid-2026. Instead, the Asian Games and the Commonwealth Kabaddi Championship pushed everything back, and the Season 13 auction is now expected in the second half of October.
Below you will find what is actually known: the latest on the date, how the auction works, what happened in Season 12, and what to watch for this time. For the full season timeline, see our PKL Schedule 2026 page.
When Is the PKL Season 13 Auction?
The PKL 13 auction is reported for October 18-25, 2026. That window comes from sports news reports, not from Mashal Sports, so treat it as likely rather than locked in.
| Event | Date | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Season 12 final | October 31, 2025 | Completed |
| Asian Games (Aichi-Nagoya) | September 19 – October 4, 2026 | Completed |
| PKL 13 auction | October 18-25, 2026 | Reported, not confirmed |
| Squads finalised | November 2026 | Expected |
| Season 13 start | Late December 2026 | Expected |
Why the delay? In recent seasons the auction came about three months before the first match. Season 12’s auction was held on May 31 and June 1, 2025, and the season started on August 29. This time, national-team duty at the Asian Games and the Commonwealth Kabaddi Championship took priority, so the auction moved to October and the season to late December.
Be careful with any page that gives you an exact auction date before Mashal Sports announces it. We will update this page the moment the official dates are out.
How Does the PKL Auction Work?
The PKL auction can look confusing, with categories, purses and special cards flying around. Broken down step by step, it is a fairly logical system, built to stop one rich team from simply buying every star.
Player Categories and Base Prices
Every player in the auction is placed in one of four categories, based on past performance. Each category has a base price, the lowest bid that can start the bidding.
| Category | Base price (Season 12) | Who it is for |
|---|---|---|
| A | INR 30 lakh | Proven stars |
| B | INR 20 lakh | Established regulars |
| C | INR 13 lakh | Squad players |
| D | INR 9 lakh | Newer or less-tested players |
Within each category, players are split into Raiders, Defenders and All-Rounders, so teams can shop for exactly what their squad is missing.
How Much Money Does Each Team Have?
In Season 12, every franchise had a salary purse of INR 5 crore. That sounds like a lot until you remember it has to cover a whole squad of 18 to 25 players, including 2 to 4 overseas players.
Do the maths and the pressure is obvious. One INR 2-crore superstar takes up 40% of the budget, leaving 3 crore for 17 or more other players.
Retained players are paid from that same purse before the auction starts. A team that keeps several expensive stars walks in with far less to spend than a team that released almost everyone. That is why one franchise can arrive with 4 crore left while another has barely 1 crore.
Retention Rules: How Many Players Can a Team Keep?
Before the auction, teams can keep some of their own players instead of releasing them into the pool. In Season 12, each team could retain up to six players across three types:
- Elite Retained Players (ERP): top performers a team locks in directly.
- Retained Young Players (RYP): promising young players from the existing squad.
- Existing New Young Players (ENYP): youngsters already in the team’s development system.
Ahead of Season 12, the 12 teams retained 83 players between them, leaving the rest of the squads to be filled at the auction.
For Season 13, several teams have already moved early. Telugu Titans signed four New Young Players, including Aryan Dhawale and Himanshu Lather, and Tamil Thalaivas brought in Suthil Darshan and Lakshay Suhag. You can follow each squad on our PKL Rosters page as retention lists come out.
Overseas Players
Every squad needs 2 to 4 overseas players, so no team can ignore this part of the auction. Iran has become the league’s biggest overseas talent pool, especially for defenders. Fazel Atrachali and Mohammadreza Shadloui Chiyaneh are as well known to Indian fans as most domestic stars.
Teams approach overseas slots differently. Some hunt for a hidden gem at a low price. Others build their whole defence around one big overseas name and spend accordingly.
The FBM Rule: Why It Matters
FBM stands for Final Bid Match, and it is probably the most misunderstood rule in the PKL auction.
It works like this. A player released by his team goes into the auction as normal. Other teams bid, and once the bidding ends, his old team gets the option to match the final price. If they match, he comes back. If they pass, the highest bidder gets him.
The number of FBM cards depends on how many Elite Retained Players a team kept. In Season 12, most teams had three FBM cards, while UP Yoddhas had two because they retained more ERPs.
FBM changed the course of Season 12. Dabang Delhi K.C. used it to bring back star raider Ashu Malik for INR 1.90 crore. Five months later, they were champions.
PKL Season 12 Auction Recap
The Season 12 auction ran over two days, May 31 and June 1, 2025, in Mumbai. A total of 529 players entered the pool and 121 were sold. Teams spent INR 37.90 crore, the most in PKL history at the time, and 10 players crossed the INR 1 crore mark, beating the previous record of eight.
The Biggest Buys
Iranian all-rounder Mohammadreza Shadloui Chiyaneh was the first player under the hammer and set the tone straight away, joining Gujarat Giants for INR 2.23 crore. It was his third straight season above INR 2 crore, a first in league history.
| Player | Team | Price (INR) |
|---|---|---|
| Mohammadreza Shadloui Chiyaneh | Gujarat Giants | 2.23 crore |
| Devank Dalal | Bengal Warriorz | 2.205 crore |
| Ashu Malik (via FBM) | Dabang Delhi K.C. | 1.90 crore |
| Arjun Deshwal | Tamil Thalaivas | 1.405 crore |
| Aanil Mohan (Category D) | U Mumba | 78 lakh |
Did the Big Money Pay Off?
This is the part most auction pages skip. Here is how the biggest spenders actually did once Season 12 started:
| Team | Big auction signing | Season 12 finish |
|---|---|---|
| Dabang Delhi K.C. | Ashu Malik (FBM, 1.90 crore) | Champions |
| Tamil Thalaivas | Arjun Deshwal (1.405 crore) | 10th, missed playoffs |
| Gujarat Giants | Shadloui (2.23 crore) | 11th, missed playoffs |
| Bengal Warriorz | Devank Dalal (2.205 crore) | 12th, missed playoffs |
The lesson is clear. The two most expensive players of Season 12 both played for teams that finished in the bottom two. Spending big on one star does not win titles. A balanced squad does. You can see exactly where every team finished on our PKL Points Table.
Surprises: Unsold Stars and Bargains
Not every big name found a buyer. Pardeep Narwal, the highest raid-point scorer in PKL history, went unsold on day one, and he retired before the season started. Sahil Gulia, Neeraj and Ran Singh Raniya were also left without teams.
Teams clearly preferred younger, fitter raiders over veterans near the end of their careers. It was a tough thing for long-time fans to watch.
The biggest bargain was Fazel Atrachali. Widely seen as the best defender PKL has ever had, he went for just his base price of INR 30 lakh. He then went on to win the Season 12 Most Valuable Player award and lift the trophy with Dabang Delhi. At auction time, nobody saw that coming.
PKL Auction: Season 11 vs Season 12 vs Season 13
| Detail | Season 11 (2024) | Season 12 (2025) | Season 13 (2026) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Auction dates | August 15-16, 2024 | May 31 – June 1, 2025 | October 18-25, 2026 (reported) |
| Venue | Mumbai | Mumbai | To be announced |
| Purse per team | INR 5 crore | INR 5 crore | Not announced |
| Most expensive player | Sachin Tanwar, 2.15 crore | Shadloui, 2.23 crore | To be decided |
| Players retained | 88 | 83 | Not announced |
| Players above 1 crore | 8 | 10 | To be decided |
How the PKL Purse Has Grown Since Season 1
In Season 1, back in 2014, each team’s entire salary purse was just INR 60 lakh, and the most expensive player cost INR 12.8 lakh. By Season 12, the purse had grown to INR 5 crore, roughly eight times bigger. A single player, Shadloui, sold for more than three times what a whole Season 1 squad cost.
Bigger broadcast deals and sponsorships drove most of that growth. PKL went from a new league with modest budgets to one whose auction is covered live, with crore-plus signings making headlines the way IPL auctions do.
Who Could Be the Big Names at the Season 13 Auction?
Predicting auction headlines is risky, but Season 12 gives us a few clues.
- Young raiders will stay in demand. Teams showed in Season 12 that they prefer fitness and upside over reputation. Expect that to continue.
- Shadloui’s streak. If he crosses INR 2 crore again, it will be four seasons in a row, a record no one is close to.
- Season 12’s stars. Ayan Lohchab of Patna Pirates scored 316 raid points to finish as Raider of the Season. If he enters the auction, he will start a bidding war.
- Fazel’s value. After winning MVP at a base-price salary, he is unlikely to go that cheaply again if he is released.
- Purse balances after retentions. Once retention lists are out, check which teams have the most money left. That alone tells you who is planning to go big.
Why the Auction Matters So Much to Fans
The auction is where a fan’s hopes for the season start to take shape, or fall apart. A team that buys well gets a squad that fits together, with the right mix of raiders, defenders and bench depth. A team that blows its budget on one name often struggles once injuries hit, because there is no way to rebuild once the auction closes. Season 12’s bottom three proved that.
There is also the drama. Watching a legend sit unsold, as Pardeep Narwal did, creates a different kind of tension than any match. And for fantasy players, auction results matter a lot: a good player who joins a strong, balanced team is often a better pick than a bigger name on a weak one.
How to Follow the PKL Season 13 Auction Live
The Season 13 broadcaster has not been announced yet. Recent auctions have been shown live by the league’s broadcast partner, and Season 12 matches were on Star Sports and JioHotstar. We will confirm the Season 13 auction channel as soon as it is announced.
If you miss the live coverage, prokabaddi.com and major sports news sites post running lists of every player sold and for how much. We will also post a full team-by-team summary here once the auction ends.
Auction Day Cheat Sheet
| Term | What it means |
|---|---|
| Category A, B, C, D | Player tiers based on past performance, each with its own base price |
| Base price | The lowest bid that can start the bidding on a player |
| Purse | A team’s total player budget (INR 5 crore in Season 12) |
| ERP | Elite Retained Player, a top performer kept before the auction |
| RYP / ENYP | Retained Young Player and Existing New Young Player, for developing talent |
| NYP | New Young Player, emerging talent signed outside the auction |
| FBM | Final Bid Match, which lets a team buy back a released player by matching the winning bid |
Keep this table open on auction day. Almost every headline will use at least three of these terms.
Frequently Asked Questions
When is the PKL Season 13 auction?
The PKL 13 auction is reported for October 18-25, 2026. It was delayed by the Asian Games and the Commonwealth Kabaddi Championship. Mashal Sports has not confirmed the exact dates yet.
Why was the PKL 13 auction delayed?
National-team duty came first. The Asian Games ran from September 19 to October 4, 2026, and the Commonwealth Kabaddi Championship followed, so the auction moved to October and the season to late December.
How much money does each PKL team get at the auction?
In Season 12, each team had a purse of INR 5 crore. Money spent on retained players comes out of that purse before bidding starts. The Season 13 purse has not been announced.
What is the FBM rule in the PKL auction?
FBM means Final Bid Match. It lets a team buy back one of its released players by matching the winning bid. Dabang Delhi used it in Season 12 to bring back Ashu Malik for INR 1.90 crore.
How many players can a PKL team retain?
In Season 12, teams could retain up to six players as Elite Retained Players, Retained Young Players and Existing New Young Players.
Who was the most expensive player at the PKL Season 12 auction?
Mohammadreza Shadloui Chiyaneh, sold to Gujarat Giants for INR 2.23 crore. It was his third straight season above INR 2 crore.
Did Pardeep Narwal play in PKL Season 12?
No. Pardeep Narwal went unsold at the Season 12 auction and retired before the season began. He finished his career as PKL’s all-time top raider with 1,801 raid points.
What happens to players who go unsold?
Unsold players can enter the next season’s auction. Teams can also sign replacement players during the season if injuries leave gaps in their squads.
Related Guides
- Full season timeline: our PKL Schedule 2026 hub has every key date, all 12 teams and the latest updates.
- Where the money ended up: the PKL Points Table shows whether Season 12’s big spenders actually delivered.
- Squads after the auction: follow every roster on our PKL Rosters page.
- Biggest buys in action: see how Gujarat Giants and Bengal Warriorz used their record signings, and how Dabang Delhi K.C. turned an FBM card into a title.
Final Word
Auctions decide seasons before a single raid is made. Season 12 proved it in both directions: Delhi kept their core through FBM, bought Fazel for 30 lakh and won the title, while the two most expensive players ended up on teams in the bottom two.
With the Season 13 auction reported for October 18-25, the next few weeks will tell us who learned that lesson. We will update this page with every confirmed date, retention list and big signing as it happens.
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