With the addition of four new teams in the forthcoming season of the Pro Kabaddi League, it is now India’s biggest sporting league. The new franchises for the league have been chosen, keeping in mind the popularity of the sport with huge fan bases and the potential commercial value they offer to sponsors and advertisers.
As a result, it is all set to overtake other Indian sports leagues as far as geographical representation is concerned. A total of 12 franchises from 11 states, playing more than 130 matches over 13 weeks just goes to prove the tremendous growth of the league.
The new states added to the mix are Gujarat, Haryana, Tamil Nadu and Uttar Pradesh. Let’s have a look at the new teams.
#1 Team Gujarat
Team Gujarat, which is yet to be named, will be playing their matches in Ahmedabad. The franchise is owned by Adani Wilmar Limited, promoted by the famous Adani Group.
Despite having a slow start at the auction, picking up just three players on the first day, Team Gujarat ended up with a pretty formidable squad with some smart buys. They made defender Fazel Atrachali from Iran, the best defender of last season, their priority pick.
They also bought his fellow countryman and defender Abozar Mohajer Mighani for INR 50 lakhs, who became the costliest buy for an overseas player at the auction. Established defender Sukesh Hegde, formerly of Telugu Titans, is another impressive purchase.
Defenders – Abozar Mohajer Mighani, C Kalai Arasan, Fazel Atrachali, Vikas Kale, Manoj Kumar, Parvesh Bhainswal, Sunil Kumar
Raiders – Sukesh Hegde, Mahendra Rajput, Sachin, Amit Rathi, Dange Sultan, Pawan Kumar, Rakesh Narwal, Chandran Ranjit
All Rounders – Seong Ryeol Kim, Mahipal Narwal, Rohit Gulia
#2 Haryana Steelers
Haryana Steelers are owned by JSW Sports Private Limited, promoted by the JSW Group. They went about their business quietly at the auction by not overspending but buying some proven players at the same time.
Their priority pick was defender Surender Nada, who hails from Haryana and played for Bengaluru Bulls last season. They also picked up defender Mohit Chillar, who was the most expensive player at last year’s auction, for INR 46.50 lakhs. Also drafted in was raider Wazir Singh, the former Puneri Paltan captain, for INR 44 lakhs.
Defenders – Mohit Chhillar, Neeraj Kumar, Vikash, Surender Nada, Mahender Singh Dhaka, Jeeva Gopal, Rakesh S. Kumar, Neeral Kumar, Babu M, Raju Lal Choudhary
Raiders – Sonu Narwal, Khomsan Thongkham, Deepak Kumar, Surjeet Singh, Prashant K Rai, Deepak Dahiya, Wazir Singh, Vikash Khandola, Ashish Chhokar
All Rounders – David Mosambayi, Mayur Shivtarkar, Deepak Rathee, Parmod Narwal, Kuldeep Singh
#3 Team Tamil Nadu
The unnamed franchise, who will play their matches in Chennai, is owned by a consortium – Iquest Enterprises Private Limited. The co-owners are legendary former cricketer Sachin Tendulkar and serial entrepreneur N Prasad.
Team Tamil Nadu wasted no time at the auction as they were the first team to fill up their maximum quota of players. Raider Ajay Thakur was their priority pick, who is one of the best in the business and will no doubt spearhead the attack.
Their most expensive purchase was defender Amit Hooda, formerly of Jaipur Pink Panthers, for a whopping 63 lakhs. Ther defence looks pretty strong with the inclusion of C. Arun and Anil Kumar.
Head coach K Baskaran, who has previously coached Jaipur Pink Panthers for 3 years and Puneri paltan for 1 year, is confident going into the fifth season.
Defenders – C Arun, Amit Hooda, Sanket Chavan, Rajesh, Anil Kumar, Anil Kumar, Mugilan, Sanket Chavan, T. Prabhakaran, Vijin T., Vijay Kumar, Muruthu M, Darshan J
Raiders – Waleed Al Hasani, Dong Geon Lee, Bhavani Rajput, Ajay Thakur, M. Thivakaran, K. Prapanjan, Sombir, Vineet Sharma, Sarang Deshmukh
All Rounders – Prathap, Chan Sik Park, Sujit Maharana, Ananthkumar
#4 Team Uttar Pradesh
Team Uttar Pradesh were the only one among the new teams who opted against picking any priority player. The franchise based in Lucknow is owned by GMR League Games Private Limited. The GMR group stole the limelight on the first day of the auction by acquiring the services of local raider Nitin Tomar for a mind-boggling 93 lakhs.
Team Uttar Pradesh also bought talented all-rounder Rajesh Narwal, who previously turned out for Jaipur Pink Panthers, for INR 69 lakhs. They also picked up experienced campaigner Jeeva Kumar for INR 52 lakhs, who will add solidarity to the defence. Also in the mix is raider Rishank Devadiga, bought for INR 45.5 lakhs.
Their head coach Arun, former league winning coach with Patna Pirates, will be going for the title again.
Defenders – Jeeva Kumar, Hadi Tajik, Nitesh Kumar, Gurvinder Singh, Santosh BS, Rohit Kumar, Sanoj Kumar
Raiders – Rishank Devadiga, Sulieman Kabir, Nitin Tomar, Surendra Singh, Mahesh Goud, Ajvender Singh, Gulveer Singh
All Rounders – Rajesh Narwal, Pankaj, Sunil, Sagar B Krishna
