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The seventh edition of the Pro Kabaddi League is over as the Bengal Warriors emerged as the winners of the tournament by defeating Dabang Delhi K.C. in the final. All the players of Bengal Warriors played their role to perfection as they were successful in overcoming Naveen Kumar and Co. in the final.
While Bengal and Delhi had impressed a lot with their performances in PKL 2019, the same was not the case with the other teams. At the beginning of the season, it seemed like all the teams were pretty evenly matched and the fans would have to wait until the last match to know the top 6 teams. However, a few teams played below par kabaddi to crash out of the tournament early, which made the top 6 clear even before the final leg of the league round began.
A lot of the star players could not justify their talent and here's a list of the 5 elite players who disappointed the fans in PKL 2019 -
#5 Manjeet Chhillar, Tamil Thalaivas
Matches - 15, Tackle Points - 37, Average Successful Tackles/Match - 2.33
The former Bengaluru Bulls star, Manjeet Chhillar was retained by the Tamil Thalaivas despite his unsatisfactory performance in the previous season. Chhillar had kicked off the season with a bang as he was at his vicious best in the first few matches. But, just days before the Chennai leg, he suffered an untimely injury which forced him to miss some matches.
When he returned from injury, he could not trouble the raiders as his tackle strike rate reduced a lot. The raiders found it easy to get the better of him as Season 7 proved to be the worst season for the Indian all-rounder. This was the first time he could not breach the 50-point mark in a PKL season.
Hence, the Tamil Thalaivas fans would be unhappy with his performance.
#4 Abozar Mohajermighani, Telugu Titans
Matches - 18, Tackle Points - 39, Average Successful Tackles/Match - 2
The captain of Telugu Titans, Abozar Mighani seemed to have lost his touch in PKL 2019 as he could manage only a solitary High 5 in the entire season. Playing at the corner position, the Iranian defender remained silent in the first half of the tournament. He found some form in the latter matches but Telugu Titans had lost a lot of matches by then.
Ultimately, the team management benched him and tried some new players in his place. Also, they handed over the reins to Siddharth Desai, which is a sign that they may release Mighani from the squad ahead of PKL 2020.
#3 Girish Maruti Ernak, Puneri Paltan
Matches - 17, Tackle Points - 35, Average Successful Tackles/Match - 1.82
Girish Ernak is one of the few players who has been a part of the Pro Kabaddi League ever since its inception. Donning the Puneri Paltan jersey in PKL 2019, Ernak could only score 35 tackle points in 17 matches and his average successful tackles per match were less than 2.
With just 1 High 5 and 3 Super Tackles in the season, his performances must have definitely disappointed the kabaddi fans of Pune. He had picked up 64 and 56 tackle points in Season 5 and 6 respectively. However, this year, he could not support the other defenders as the Puneri Paltan exited the tournament early, despite being the best defensive unit of the tournament.
#2 Jang Kun Lee, Patna Pirates
Matches - 16, Raid Points - 60, Average Raid Points/Match - 3.75
The South Korean superstar, Jang Kun Lee had made a name for himself by playing with supreme consistency for Bengal Warriors in PKL. After a lengthy stay at the Bengal camp, Lee finally switched to Patna Pirates in PKL 2019. However, he could not live up to the expectations.
Though he had the back of Pardeep Narwal in the raiding department, the Korean raider could pick up only 60 raid points in 16 games, much to the dismay of the Patna fans. The team management must have definitely expected him to perform much better than that.
#1 Sachin Tanwar, Gujarat Fortune Giants
Matches - 16, Raid Points - 84, Average Raid Points/Match - 5.25
Sachin Tanwar was billed by many to be the next big thing in the Pro Kabaddi League. The Rajasthan-based raider had led the raiding unit of the Gujarat Fortune Giants in the previous two seasons and on the virtue of his performances, the team had reached the final on both the occasions.
But, this year, the story was different for Sachin Tanwar. He could only score 84 raid points in 16 matches at a below par average of 5.25 raid points. While these are good numbers for a secondary raider, the teams expect their top raider to score at an average of at least 8 or 9 points.
He could score a mere 2 Super 10s and execute only a solitary Super Raid in the season as Gujarat Fortune Giants bid farewell to PKL 2019 in the league round itself.
