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VIVO Pro Kabaddi 2019 is all set to begin from 20th July 2019 and the inaugural champions of Pro Kabaddi, Jaipur Pink Panthers will be keen to repeat their magic from their title winning campaign in this edition.
After emerging as the champions in the first edition of the tournament, the Pink Panthers failed to qualify into the playoffs for the next two seasons. They finished as the runners-up of season 4 after losing to the Patna Pirates. However, in season 5 and season 6, they failed to reach the playoffs yet again.
In season 6, the Pink Panthers could only manage six wins out of 22 matches in the league stage as they ended 5th on the Zone A points table. Anup Kumar led the team until he announced his retirement from the game that saw the mantle being passed on to Deepak Hooda.
Despite failing as a team, there were some individual players from season 6 who the team management retained for the upcoming seventh edition. Among these rententions were Deepak Niwas Hooda and ace corner defender Sandeep Dhull.
Jaipur Pink Panthers are set to play their first league match on 23rd July 2019 against U Mumba. The home leg of Pink Panthers will commence from 21st to 27th September 2019 at the Sawai Mansingh Indoor Stadium, Jaipur.
With a few days remaining for PKL 2019, here is a look at the possible starting seven for the Jaipur Pink Panthers.
Right Corner: Amit Hooda
The best defender for the Jaipur Pink Panthers in their season 4 campaign, Amit Hooda was an integral part in the defense unit as his fine show went a long way in taking the Pink Panthers to the finals. He scored a magnificent 51 tackle points in 16 matches for the team in that season.
Amit Hooda was also a part of Patna Pirates back in season 2 and season 3 as well. Post his heroics with Jaipur, he later joined Tamil Thalaivas in season 5 and finished as the seventh best defender of the fifth edition with 61 tackle points. However, in season 6, he performed below expectations and was released by the Thalaivas.
Amit Hooda is an ankle hold specialist as well as an expert in diving thigh holds as well. He can target the left raiders with his precise defensive skills that allows him to score crucial tackle points for the team. While it is a homecoming for Amit Hooda as he returns to the Jaipur Pink Panthers, fans will expect him to bring front his heroics once again for the team.
Right In: Deepak Narwal
Deepak Narwal has proved his worth as one of the dependable support raiders in Pro Kabaddi today. He has represented the Patna Pirates (season 2, 3 and 6), Dabang Delhi K.C. (season 4) and Bengal Warriors (season 5) in the past.
He was a crucial part of the Patna Pirates setup in season 2 as he was their second-best raider. One of the highlights of his career was back in the fifth season when Deepak came in the middle of the tournament and assisted the Bengal Warriors' lead raider Maninder Singh with 85 raid points in 16 matches.
A calculative raider, Deepak has rhythmic shuffling skill around the court that allows him to steal touchpoints that unsettles the opposition defenders. He also loves using back kicks to score raid points with ease.
Overall, Deepak Narwal has 256 raid points in 64 matches at an average of 4 raid points. He will look to aid his captain as the support raider of the team.
Right Cover: Sunil Siddhgavali
Hailing from Maharashtra, Sunil Siddhgavali made his debut with Jaipur Pink Panthers back in season 5 as a replacement for Manjeet Chillar, who picked up an injury mid-season.
He did not get too many chances in the team back in his debut season. In season 6, he replaced the team's primary right cover defender, Bajirao Hodage and played brilliantly throughout the tournament from the cover position.
Sunil Siddhgavali is an expert of dashes and blocks and can execute them with sheer strength and force. He improvised on his advance tackling in his second season with the Panthers as he scored 33 tackle points in 16 matches. Overall, Sunil has 49 tackle points in 28 matches at an average of 1.75 tackle points.
With the Pink Panthers entrusting faith on this exciting cover defender, the burly player can be pipped to enjoy yet another classy season.
Center: Deepak Niwas Hooda
Deepak Niwas Hooda has established himself as one of the best all-rounders in Pro Kabaddi today. He has represented the Telugu Titans (seasons 1 and 2) and Puneri Paltan (Season 3, 4, and 5) in the past editions before finally joining the Jaipur Pink Panthers for season 6.
With every passing year, Hooda has improved his game and is 3rd in the list of most total points in the history of Pro Kabaddi. Hooda has 710 raid points in 103 matches at an average of 6.89 raid points. He also has 75 tackle points to his name with 4 High 5s.
One of the fittest players in the game, Hooda is a left raider who can play as a left cover defender at times. He loves to execute running hand touches and has a decent backtracking ability that allows him to escape the mightiest of defense units.
Left Cover: Vishal Lather
Jaipur Pink Panthers purchased Vishal Lather's services for a massive sum of ₹25.25 lakh in the season 7 auction. Vishal Lather was a part of Dabang Delhi K.C. for season 5 and one season after that as well. He got a few chances in both seasons but could not make much of an impact.
Vishal has 18 tackle points in 11 matches at an average of 1.64 tackle points. He has 5 super tackles to his name apart from a single 'High 5'. He is an expert in blocking the raiders and can also provide good assistance to the corner defenders.
The team management will highly expect Vishal Lather to perform in the tournament as the squad lacks a proper left cover defender apart from him. While Hooda is a capable defender, Vishal's USP of defending aggressively could come to the party.
Left In: Ajinkya Pawar
Ajinkya Pawar was one of the finds for Jaipur Pink Panthers in season 6. He joined the team mid-season and became a permanent support raider to Deepak Niwas Hooda in the offensive unit.
Hailing from Maharashtra, Ajinkya Pawar was picked by the Pink Panthers as an NYP Player. An agile raider, Ajinkya can shuffle across the court and can score crucial points for his team in the do or die raids. He is a complete raider with all raiding moves in his arsenal and specializes in running hand touches and bonus taking skill.
In his debut season, Pawar scored 71 raid points out of 17 matches at an average of 4.18 raid points. He replaced the injured Nitin Rawal and led the raiding charges at times when Deepak Hooda and Anup Kumar were struggling to score points.
Ajinkya Pawar will have a big responsibility as he could be prominent support to Deepak Hooda in the upcoming season as well.
Left Corner: Sandeep Dhull
An exciting left corner defender, Sandeep Dhull has become one of the most opportunistic defenders of Pro Kabaddi. He has proved his mettle every single season. Sandeep was a part of Dabang Delhi K.C. for the third season and Telugu Titans in season four before finally joining the Jaipur Pink Panthers last year.
Sandeep Dhull is a specialist in diving thigh holds from the left corner position. He can also execute ankle holds which are glorious to watch. His six super tackles in season 3 were the highest among most super tackles in that season.
He turned out to be one of the most lethal defenders for the Pink Panthers last season as he grabbed 67 tackle points in 22 matches at an average of 3.05 tackle points. He also picked up four High 5s apart from five super tackles to his name.
Sandeep Dhull will form a corner duo with Amit Hooda as the corner defense of Jaipur Pink Panthers will look to dominate the opposition raiders in the upcoming tournament.
