PKL: Happy to be back in my second home, says U Mumba's Atrachali

Mumbai  :  After becoming the most expensive buy in the history of Pro Kabaddi League (PKL), an elated Iranian Fazel Atrachali on Wednesday expressed pleasure on being picked by U Mumba.

The Iranian, who was picked by the Mumbai-based franchise for Rs 1 crore, surpassed Nitin Tomar, who was till now the costliest buy in the league after being bagged by UP Yoddhas for Rs 93 lakhs in the previous year's auctions. 

"I am very happy to be back in my second home - U Mumba. I have immense respect for the team because it is where it all began for me," Atrachali said. 

"The fact that I beat the record for the highest bid in Pro Kabaddi is truly an incredible feeling," he added.

Meanwhile, U-Mumba team owner Ronnie Screwvala explained the reason behind paying a whopping amount to secure the Iranian defender.

"We wanted to be strong in defence. We had an extremely strong defence in season 1 and season 2 and that was part of the reason why we bargained for Fazal so fiercely," said Ronnie.

"Fazal is someone who has played with us and we are quite happy to have him back. We wanted to be sure that we got who we wanted rather than going right till the end and then have to hastily pick a player," added he.