APL Auction night — Teams To Look Out For

Varun Venkatesh, Class of 2020

The APL auctions took place on 10th of April, an intense 4–5 hours of bidding by adventurous investors who had to shed a huge amount of money (Rs. 5000) to own teams. The owners were sweating like they were students who heard an unexpected knock on their door and started panic-spraying deodorant all around the room. But to be fair, the thought of losing the tournament and being able to afford nothing but mess food for a week is indeed terrifying.

The stage was set. The power-point was successfully projecting despite somebody stealing HDMI cable. Technical difficulties like these didn’t affect the APL organizing team as they somehow figured out what the technician’s number was and called him to save the day. Incredible scenes. There was a lot of back and forth between teams, some of whose names gave me acid reflux(I could feel the sour taste in my throat). Personally, I am astounded that my first ever professional appearance in football is for Thiccbois FC. However, let us move on to the players of the night.

Jai Sahni Mohanty, was sold for a whopping 92 million Ashokan bucks to Nutty Master, followed by Chirag Chinappa for 69 million Ashokan bucks to Wiley Warriors. Philip Deweyi, who was expected to be the most expensive player, was sold for 63 million to Las Magnifico, and at that price was quite a steal. Divyaj Sharma (Team Gogo), Zoheb Bedi (Brute Warriors FC), Edwin Joseph (Team 4 play), and Swasti Acharya (Clockwork FC) were all retained by their respective teams by using their option of Right to Match. Manan Bhan is the most expensive Tier 3 player going to Gabru FC for 42 million Ashokan bucks. Thiccbois FC made an impressive signing in Shourjo Chatterjee for just 16 million Ashokan bucks.

Teams to look out for:

Brute Warriors FC: They have built a well-rounded team with Rudra Cariappa, Zoheb Bedi, and Jai Suneja starting for them and Aditya Khemka holding the line with Ananya Marie. The have the players to transition the ball from the back smoothly compared to the most common tactic of hoofing it up and waiting for God’s intervention.

Gamli’s VI: Sourya Reddy and Rohan Chaudhuri, two really skilled players who will for the spine of the team eventually. Sourya Reddy to cover the back line while Rohan Chaudhuri plays box to box carrying the ball up, looking for openings. Saaransh Mishra, should also be able to help with the backline, and pushing up as and when required. They have enough players to run up and down the pitch, playing some end to end football.

Team 4play: The defending champions lost their talisman Aditya Shetty to graduation this year, but managed to retain Edwin Joseph, and have found a reliable player in Rohan Poddar. They have an all-round team Clinton Manoti, Pixie, and Aditya Jaishankar capable of moving the ball around.

Wily Warriors: Chirag Chinnappa will be leading the team with Barun Parruck and Ruheena Tankariwala to support him in midfield and defense respectively. Ishan Bhattacharya supporting in midfield provides more solidity to the team. They should be able to get the majority of the possession in their games and play their way through the opponent’s defense.

Overall, it seems like an exciting tournament and an incredible way to spend the weekend. Turn up in large numbers to watch the matches. The Premier League™ can wait. The Ashoka Premier League is here to take over.