How a Pro Kabaddi Auction Works: FBM, Cards and the Cap

Each PKL franchise builds a squad inside a ₹5 crore salary purse, reduced by whatever it spends on retentions.

Players are slotted into categories A, B, C and D with base prices from roughly ₹9 lakh to ₹30 lakh.

The FBM card lets a team match the highest bid on its released player and pull him back, for one or two seasons.

New Young Player rules force every squad to keep developing fresh domestic talent, not just buy stars.

Smart teams win the auction before it starts, through retentions and FBM planning, not loud bidding wars.