Volleyball: India
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Pro Volleyball League
Player auction, 2018
Pratyush Raj, Spikers rake in the moolah, December 15, 2018: The Times of India
From: Pratyush Raj, Spikers rake in the moolah, December 15, 2018: The Times of India
Volleyball players ke bhi acche din aa gaye (Good days have come for Indian spikers). That is how Ranjit Singh, a sub-inspector in Punjab Police, summed up the tag of being the costliest player to have emerged out of the Pro Volleyball League player auction, which took place in the national capital on Friday. Ahmedabad Defenders bid the highest for Ranjit, as the Punjab lad notched up Rs 13 lakh.
Six foreign players were picked through a draft process, while 117 Indians went under the hammer. Among other players, Muthu Samy was purchased by Black Hawks Hyderabad for Rs 10 lakh, Ratheesh CK went to Calicut Heroes for Rs 9.8 lakh, Rahul Greak was bagged by Ahmedabad Defenders for Rs 7.4 lakh and U Mumba Volley got the services of Shubham Chaudhary for Rs 5.5 lakh.
“I knew I would get a good sum. For all of us, this is a new chapter and I hope we can live up to the expectations and faith shown in us by the team owners, volleyball federation and organizers,” Ranjit told TOI.
Once the auction finished and Ahmedabad Defenders announced the record amount for Ranjit, the volume of congratulatory calls and messages was immense and the 26-yearold had to switch off his phone.
According to Ranjit, the league is the best thing to have happened to Indian volleyball. “The sport had fallen off the radar. But this will be a new beginning,” said Ranjit.
There are six teams – Ahmedabad Defenders, Black Hawks Hyderabad, Calicut Heroes, U Mumba Volley, Kochi Blue Spikers and Chennai Spartans — in the league. The league will start from February 2 next year.
