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VIVO Pro Kabaddi 2019 is set to commence from 20th July 2019. The Haryana Steelers were one out of four teams that debuted in Season 5. Owned by JSW Sports, the Steelers managed to qualify into the playoffs in their debut season.
They had a decent season with Surender Nada leading them as the captain of the side, who had a plethora of raiding options in the squad. In season 6, however, the Steelers had a forgettable season as they finished last on the points table.
In the season 7 auctions, they made relatively cheap buys and formed a decent side ahead of the tournament. The team also signed Arjuna awardee and former Indian Kabaddi team captain Rakesh Kumar as their head coach, who will be looking to lead the Steelers far this season.
Haryana Steelers are set to begin their league stage matches with their first encounter against Puneri Paltan on 22nd July 2019. The home leg of Haryana Steelers will commence from 28th September and culminate on 4th October 2019 in Panchkula.
With less than a few weeks left for the start of Pro Kabaddi 2019, let us take a look at the predicted playing 7 for Haryana Steelers.
Right Corner: Dharmaraj Cheralathan
Dharmaraj Cheralathan, at the age of 44 years is one of the most experienced defenders of Pro Kabaddi today. He has represented the Bengaluru Bulls, Telugu Titans, Patna Pirates, Puneri Paltan, and U Mumba in the previous seasons.
A super tackle specialist, Dharmaraj Cheralathan is a versatile defender who can play from both the left and right corner position. It is probable that the team management will hand him the captaincy duties for Haryana this time, owing to his acres of experience.
Cheralathan also led the Patna Pirates to their second consecutive title win back in Season 4. He has 216 tackle points in 99 matches at an average of 2.18 tackle points. With 11 High 5s and 21 super tackles, he stands at second place in most super tackle points by any defender till date.
Known as a thigh hold specialist, Cheralathan is brilliant with his ankle holds and dives. He will play a crucial role in leading the defensive charges for Haryana Steelers in season 7.
Right In: Prashant Kumar Rai
Prashanth Kumar Rai has established himself as one of the most classy raiders of Pro Kabaddi at the moment. Hailing from Karnataka, Prashanth started his career as a do or die raider for the Telugu Titans back in the first three seasons.
He joined Dabang Delhi K.C. back in Season 4 but had a silent season. He joined the Haryana Steelers in season 5 where he emerged as a vital raider for the team. In season 6 with UP Yoddha, Prashant outshined big match raiders like Shrikant Jadhav and Rishank Devadiga and established himself as the lead raider, scoring 144 raid points in 21 matches.
Prashant has a decent reach to the midline because of his height that allows him to take swift bonus points. He is an expert in executing running hand touches with flexibility across the court.
Overall, Prashanth has 312 raid points out of 81 matches in Pro Kabaddi. With 10 Super 10s to his name, Prashant averages 3.85 raid points.
Right Cover: Vikas Kale
Vikas Kale is one of the most renowned names today as a right cover defender. He has represented the Bengal Warriors, Telugu Titans, U Mumba, Gujarat Fortune Giants, and Patna Pirates in the past seasons of Pro Kabaddi.
Vikas Kale raised his game last year with Patna Pirates as he became the team's permanent right cover defender, having failed to receive chances in the starting seven for Mumba and Gujarat in the previous seasons.
Kale can provide immense support to the corner defense with his body blocks that allows the defenders to remain composed. He has 60 tackle points in 41 matches at an average of 1.46 points.
Haryana Steelers signed the Maharashtrian defender for a massive sum of ₹34.25 lakhs. They also purchased Ravi Kumar for his replacement in the right cover position. Kale will be hoping to improve his previous records in the PKL through the upcoming tournament to book his permanent spot in the playing seven for Haryana Steelers.
His role in the team will play a crucial role in Haryana's defensive strategies.
Center: Vikash Khandola
Vikash Khandola has been one of the finds for Haryana Steelers since their inaugural season. A promising raider, Vikash is a swift and calculative player who has led the raiding on his own whenever he played for Haryana.
This young raider debuted back in season 4 with Dabang Delhi K.C but did not get enough chances in the starting seven. He performed well for the Haryana Steelers in season 5. He scored 58 raid points at an average of 6.44 raid points in 9 matches before getting injured mid-season.
When the most expensive player of Pro Kabaddi history, Monu Goyat, was dealing with injury concerns and lack of form, Vikash Khandola quickly emerged as one of their lead raiders with his quick agility and bonus stealing skills. He led the offensive charge on his own, scoring 177 raid points out of 22 matches at a brilliant average of 8.05 raid points.
The team management retained Vikash by paying 15.1% of their purse ahead of the auction. He will look to form a raiding duo with Prashant Rai in the offense of Haryana Steelers for Season 7.
Left Cover: Parveen
Parveen debuted with Haryana Steelers last year where he replaced the out-of-form Sachin Shingade and quickly made an impression in the eyes of the team management. This young defender booked a permanent spot in the playing seven with his potential on the mat.
This bulky defender is an expert of using dashes and blocks with his upper body strength. He provides decent support to the corner defense with his breath-taking body blocks that take the raiders down, preventing them from reaching the midline.
Parveen scored 28 tackle points out of 19 matches last season with a single High 5 to his name. He was retained ahead of the auction owing to his decent performance in season 6.
The team management will look to have Parveen improve his stats from last season and avoid advance tackles to book his permanent spot in the playing seven. While the cover defense looks capable with the addition of Vikas Kale and Ravi Kumar, the left cover defense will play a crucial role for the team ahead in the tournament.
Left In: Naveen Kumar
In a match against Jaipur Pink Panthers in the Haryana leg of season 6, Naveen Goyat scripted a brilliant comeback for Haryana as they had lost hopes of winning the second half of the match. While Monu Goyat and Vikash Khandola were failing to score touchpoints, Naveen surprisingly kept them in the hunt with 15 raid points to his name.
Although Haryana lost the match, Naveen's brilliance in the raiding allowed him to become a permanent supportive raider for Haryana Steelers last season. Naveen scored 88 raid points in 21 matches at an average of 4.19 raid points. He also scored 14 tackle points on the defensive unit, showing his all-round ability.
The team management will look to have Naveen as their do or die raider in the crucial raids for the team. The perfect balance of Prashant and Vikash as the raiding duo will allow Naveen to raid without any extra pressure and he could perform well for the team in the upcoming season.
Left Corner: Kuldeep Singh
The Haryana Steelers' team composition was dealt a massive blow last season when Surender Nada picked up an injury in the very first match of group stages. Kuldeep Singh was drafted in as their left corner for the remainder of the season.
Safe to say, Kuldeep Singh fared decently for the team although he did not have prior experience of having played at such a big level. He scored 49 tackle points out of 22 matches at an average of 2.23 tackle points.
Kuldeep Singh executed some eye capturing dives from the left corner and found decent support in the corner defense that allowed him to tackle big match raiders.
On the back of his fine showing, the team management retained Kuldeep Singh ahead of the season 7 auctions. He will have less pressure this time with Dharmaraj Cheralathan protecting the other corner defense as the senior player of the squad.
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