The Pro Kabaddi League is all set to take centre stage yet again this year, with players from eight different teams set to battle it out on the mat from the 25th of June. The inaugural match will be contested between Puneri Paltan and Telugu Titans in Mumbai, from where the bandwagon will move to seven other cities around India throughout the month of July. Bangalore, Hyderabad, Kolkata, Delhi, Mumbai, Jaipur and Patna will play host to these eight star-studded teams of kabaddi during the course of the PKL season 4.
After a highly successful player auction held in May which saw 198 players going under the hammer from which 96 players were acquired, the teams have been preparing in all vigour and confidence in anticipation of the new season. The fourth season will be played just after a small gap from the third season of PKL, which was won by the Patna Pirates.
Follow Pro Kabaddi 2016 Season 4 coverage with Sportskeeda.
This season will see players coming from 12 different countries to showcase their talents in order to take the game to a global level and will follow suit to the format of the earlier three seasons.
With teams given the choice to retain just 2 players from their previous season, the auction showed some interesting buys to complement every team’s strategy. Here we show you the teams and the men who will be sporting their jerseys.
U Mumba Squad details :
Home Ground : DOME@NSCI SVP Stadium, Mumbai
Arguably PKL’s most consistent team led by a uber-cool Anup Kumar, U Mumba have been the team to beat throughout all three seasons of the Pro Kabaddi League. Coached by Bhaskaran Edacherry, U-Mumba reached the finals of PKL in all the three seasons and went on to lift the trophy in the second season, beating the Bengaluru Bulls.
Having retained skipper Anup Kumar and Rishank Devadiga prior to the auction, U-Mumba made some strong acquisitions to the squad, roping in the famed duo of Gurvinder Singh and Sunil Kumar from the Patna Pirates, both of whom had a splendid season with Patna. Manoj Dhull was transferred from Telugu Titans, to strengthen the defence.
| Position | Player Name |
| Raider | Anup Kumar (Captain) (R) |
| Raider | Rishank Devadiga (R) |
| Raider | Gurvinder Singh |
| Raider | Suresu Kumar |
| Raider | Surender Singh |
| Raider | Vikash Kumar |
| Raider | Md. Ardhuzzaman Munshi |
| Raider | Md. Zakir Hossain |
| Raider | Md. Tuhin Tarafder |
| Defender | Surjeet |
| Defender | Vikas Kale |
| Defender | Manoj Dhull |
| Defender | Jeeva Kumar |
| Defender | Sunil Kumar |
| All-rounder | Rakesh Kumar |
| All-rounder | Nitin Kumar |
| All-rounder | Sourav V |
Bengaluru Bulls Squad Details:
Home ground : Shri Kanteerva Indoor Stadium, Bengaluru.
One of the most entertaining teams on the field, the Bangalore-based team coached by Randhir Singh initially started off in the first season by making it to the playoffs but could not make the finals. In PKL Season 2, the Bulls had one shot at glory but failed to counter U-Mumba in the finals. The Bulls on a miserable show in the third season, winning just 2 out of 14 matches and ended up second to last.
For PKL Season 4, the Bulls made some supreme buys after retaining some young blood in Ashish Sangwan and Pawan Kumar. The auction for the Bulls saw them strengthening the defence by procuring the services of defence duo Mohit Chillar and Surender Nada(Who was later named captain) from U-Mumba while also adding teeth to the raiding department through Rohit Baliyan from the Telugu Titans.
| Position | Player Name |
| Defender | Surender Nada (Captain) |
| Raider | Amit Rathi |
| Raider | Deepak Kumar Dahiya |
| Raider | Harish Naik |
| Raider | Pawan Kumar (R) |
| Raider | Rohit Baliyan |
| Raider | Rohit Kumar |
| Raider | Pawan Kumar |
| Raider | Sinotharan Kanesharajah |
| Raider | Sumit Singh |
| Raider | Vinod Kumar |
| Defender | Mohit Chhillar |
| Defender | Ashish Sangwan (R) |
| Defender | Jeeva Gopal |
| Defender | Manoj Kumar |
| Defender | Yogesh Hooda |
| Defender | Rahul Kumar |
| Defender | Nicholas George Mottram |
| Defender | Ajay Singh |
| All-rounder | Sanjay Shrestha |
Also read: Pro Kabaddi 2016 Season 4 Schedule
Telugu Titans Squad Details:
Home ground : Gachibowli Indoor Stadium, Hyderabad
Owned by Veera Sports and based in Vishakapatnam, Telugu Titans is a team that has experienced a mixed bag of success in the three years. In the inaugural season, the Titans finished fifth but came back strong in PKL Season 2 where they finished third. In PKL Season 3, the Titans won half of the matches they played and ended up fifth on the points table. Two of Titans best players Rahul Chaudhari and Sukesh Hegde were retained by the franchise, ahead of the auction.
The auction for PKL 2016 saw the Titans procuring one of the best all-rounders in the game, Sandeep Narwal as well as Jasmer Singh Ghulia, who played a key part in Puneri Paltan’s success in PKL 3. The titans were keen on purchasing all-rounders for the team’s cause which was seen as 10 of their purchases were all-rounders.
| Position | Player Name |
| Raider | Rahul Kumar Chaudhari (Captain) (R) |
| Raider | Athul MS |
| Raider | K Prapanjan |
| Raider | Nilesh Salunke |
| Raider | Sukesh Hegde (R) |
| Raider | Vinoth Kumar |
| Defender | Shashank Wankhede |
| Defender | Vinod Kumar |
| Defender | Somvir Dhull |
| Defender | Sombhir |
| Defender | Akhlaq Hussain |
| All-Rounder | Sandeep Narwal |
| All-Rounder | Jasmer Singh Gulia |
| All-Rounder | Mohammad Maghsoudlou |
| All-Rounder | Kuldeep |
| All-Rounder | Muhammad Rizwan |
| All-Rounder | Rupesh Tomar |
| All-Rounder | S Mahalingam |
| All-Rounder | Sagar B Krishna |
| All-Rounder | Vishal Bharadwaj |
Puneri Paltans Squad Details:
Home ground : Shree Shiv Chhatrapati Sports Complex, Pune
Led by the mighty Manjeet Chhillar, the Puneri Paltans made a strong statement at the PKL Season 3, where they rose above all obstacles to finish on 3rd place. After ending up at the bottom of the heap in both the earlier seasons, the Paltans manufactured an algorithm through Manjeet, who led the Bulls to the finals in Season 2. Coached by Ashok Shinde, the Paltans won seven of their fourteen matches in season 3. Ahead of the auctions, they retained Manjeet Chhillar and all-rounder Deepak Niwas Hooda.
The Paltans made some huge buys to strengthen the team in the auctions, making them a dangerous team for this season. Defender Ravinder Pahal joined forces with Somvir Sekhar and Preetam Chhillar from Bengaluru, while Sonu Narwal and Nitin Tomar were bought to lend extra power to the raiding department. Ajay Thakur too returned to the fold after being released for the auction.
| Position | Player Name |
| All-Rounder | Manjeet Chhillar (Captain) (R) |
| Raider | Ajay Thakur |
| Raider | Akshay Jadhav |
| Raider | Jay Bahadur Bohara |
| Raider | Komsan Thongkham |
| Raider | Sonu Narwal |
| Defender | Somvir Sekhar |
| Defender | Gurpreet Singh |
| Defender | Ravinder Pahal |
| Defender | Ravinder Kumar |
| Defender | I Ketut Ariana |
| Defender | Joginder Narwal |
| Defender | Virender Chhillar |
| All-Rounder | Dalbir |
| All-Rounder | Deepak Niwas Hooda (R) |
| All-Rounder | Nitin Tomar |
| All-Rounder | Parmod Narwal |
| All-Rounder | Preetam Chhillar |
Also read: Pro Kabaddi 2016 Season 4 Points Table
Patna Pirates Squad Details :
Home ground : Patliputra Sports Complex, Patna
Crowned champions for the first time since the inception of the tournament, the defending champions will be looking to continue their form into the fourth season of the Pro Kabaddi League in a bid to hold on to the trophy. The Pirates have enjoyed a good run in the tournament, having finished 3rd and 4th in the earlier two seasons. Pardeep Narwal, who was Patna’s most successful raider and the best raider of PKL 3 was retained, along with another raider Rajesh Mondal.
It seemed as if Patna was keen on strengthening the defence of the team, as they bought 6 defenders and 3 all-rounders through the auction. Dharmaraj Cheralathan and Bajirao Hodage were the big fishes bought to act as the backbone for the defence, while star all-rounder Kuldeep Singh was bought to complement Pardeep Narwal. Hadi Oshtarak and Fazel Athrachali, the two Iranians were also bought to add international experience to the squad.
| Position | Player Name |
| Defender | Dharmaraj Cheralathan (Captain) |
| Raider | Abolfazel Maghsodlo |
| Raider | Mahesh Goud |
| Raider | Pardeep Narwal (R) |
| Raider | Rajesh Mondal (R) |
| Raider | Sunny |
| Raider | Surjeet Singh |
| Raider | Vinoth Paulyas |
| Defender | Sunil Kumar |
| Defender | Vijin Thangadurai |
| Defender | Anil Kumar |
| Defender | Bajirao Hodage |
| Defender | Deepak Dhull |
| Defender | Fazel Athrachali |
| Defender | Hadi Oshtarak |
| All-Rounder | Kuldeep Singh |
| All-Rounder | Sanjay Kumar |
Dabang Delhi K.C Squad Details :
Home ground : Thyagaraj Sports Complex, Delhi
Ending up no higher than 6th spot in the points table since the first season, Dabang Delhi will be hoping to start afresh and encounter a change in fortunes as they gear up for the fourth season. The three seasons has just seen a decline in Delhi’s campaign, finishing 7th place in the second season and ending up as table laggards after the third season. Ahead of this year’s season, Delhi’s retained players included Kashiling Adake, their best player of PKL Season 3 and a rather surprising retainment in the form of Selvamani K, another young raider.
Going into the auction, it was quite clear that Delhi had to make some strong buys to give them a boost ahead of the season. They lived up to some expectations as they went big. Raiders Prashant Rai and Deepak Narwal joined Delhi, while all-rounders Meraj Sheykh and Bhupender Singh were asked to sign their contracts. The defence too got it's boost in the form of the experienced duo of Suresh Kumar and Prashant Chavan.
| Position | Player Name |
| Raider | Kashiling Adake (Captain) (R) |
| Raider | Deepak Narwal |
| Raider | Selvamani K (R) |
| Raider | Sanju |
| Raider | Prashant Kumar Rai |
| Raider | Umesh Mhatre |
| Raider | Vikash Khandola |
| Defender | D.Suresh Kumar |
| Defender | Prashant Chavan |
| Defender | D Gopu |
| Defender | Ram Kumar Sah |
| Defender | Sachin Shingade |
| Defender | Anil Kumar |
| Defender | Hadi Tajik |
| Defender | Sanket Chavan |
| All-Rounder | Bhupender Singh |
| All-Rounder | Manjeet |
| All-Rounder | Meraj Sheykh |
| All-Rounder | Phonchoo Tin |
Jaipur Pink Panthers Squad Details :
Home ground : Sawai Mansingh Stadium, Jaipur
Inaugural champions of the Pro Kabaddi League, the Jaipur-based team will be looking to repeat their first season effort when game time comes upon them this season. Arguably the most-followed team owing to an added Bollywood quotient through owner Abhishek Bachchan, the team is coached by Kasinathan Bhaskaran. After winning the inaugural season, the Panthers succumbed to an early exit and finished fifth in the second season. Missing Jasvir Singh’s portfolio for a few matches in the third season, the Panthers slipped one position more and ended up 6th in the third season.
Ahead of the auction, Jaipur retained star raider Jasvir Singh and all-rounder Rajesh Narwal. In the auction, Raider Shabeer Bapu and former bulls all-rounder Shrikanth Tewthia were the notable big inclusions while Rohit Rana and Ran Singh returned to the squad after being released.
| Position | Player Name |
| Raider | Jasvir Singh (Captain) (R) |
| Raider | Mahipal Narwal |
| Raider | Shabeer Bapu |
| Raider | Tushar Patil |
| Raider | Ajay Kumar |
| Raider | Lo Chia-Wei |
| Raider | Masayuki Shimokawa |
| Raider | Amit Nagar |
| Defender | Wei Yang |
| Defender | Amit Hooda |
| Defender | Rohit Rana |
| Defender | Parveen Narwal |
| Defender | Jawahar |
| Defender | Parvesh Bhainswal |
| All-Rounder | Rajesh Narwal (R) |
| All-Rounder | Ran Singh |
| All-Rounder | Shrikanth Tewthia |
Bengal Warriors Squad Details :
Home ground : Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose Indoor Stadium, Kolkata
The Warriors are one of the most under-rated teams in Pro Kabaddi League and understandably so, ending up 7th in the inaugural Pro Kabaddi League season and finishing 6th in the second season. However, they came back strong in the third season, with the defence unit standing tall to end up in the top four, but could not make it to the finals. Nilesh Shinde stood out for the Warriors, guiding the team and scoring defence points himself for which he was retained by the franchise, along with Girish Ernak who complemented Shinde with his defence.
In the auction, the Warriors bought some experience into the squad via Vishal Mane and the ‘Flying Machine’ Surjeet Narwal. Jang-Kun Lee, Warriors best raider came back into the team while young Mahendra Ganesh Rajput too found a final bid with Bengal.
| Position | Player Name |
| Defender | Nilesh Shinde (Captain) (R) |
| Raider | Jang Kun Lee |
| Raider | Mahendra Ganesh Rajput |
| Raider | Nitin Madane |
| Raider | Ravi Dalal |
| Raider | Shrikant Jadhav |
| Raider | Simon Kibura |
| Raider | Surjeet Narwal |
| Defender | Ravi Kumar |
| Defender | Vishal Mane |
| Defender | Sushil Vijay Bhosle |
| Defender | Amit Singh Chhillar |
| Defender | C.Arun |
| Defender | Chaminda R.S.M |
| Defender | Girish Maruti Ernak |
| Defender | Ravindra Ramesh Kumavat |
| Defender | Suyog Rajapkar |
| Defender | Yogesh Subhash Sawant |
