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The new season of Pro Kabaddi League 2022 (PKL) will commence on October 7 at the Sree Kanteerava Indoor Stadium in Bengaluru. It will be the ninth edition of the league, and it promises to be the most exciting one yet.
The 12 franchises shelled out crores of rupees to sign some of the best kabaddi players in the world at the Pro Kabaddi 2022 Auction last month. While the raiders took the majority of the big deals at the auction, fans should not forget that the defenders hold the key to success for every team in PKL.
A team can have the strongest raiding attack, but it might fail to win the tournament if the defense is not equally strong. On the other side, a team with a stellar defense could challenge for the trophy even if the squad does not have extraordinary raiders.
Speaking of defenders, it is the dream of every defender in the league to win the Best Defender of the Season award in a Pro Kabaddi League season. Before PKL 9 gets underway, let's look at a list of the top three contenders to win the Best Defender award this upcoming season.
#1 Mohammadreza Chiyaneh, Patna Pirates
Mohammadreza Chiyaneh stunned kabaddi fans last season with his fantastic performances for the Patna Pirates. Playing in the left corner position, Chiyaneh scored 89 tackle points in 24 matches and played a vital role in Patna's success. He took home the Best Defender award.
The Iranian defender received another contract from the Patna Pirates ahead of the Pro Kabaddi 2022 auction. He will be one of the favorites to win the Best Defender award this year as well.
However, Chiyaneh will hope that his team wins the trophy this time around. Despite his 89 tackle points last season, the Pirates finished as the runners-up in PKL 8.
#2 Sagar Rathee, Tamil Thalaivas
Tamil Thalaivas' right corner defender Sagar Rathee was the second-best defender of the previous season.
He could have won the Best Defender award had the Thalaivas made it to the final as they would have some played some extra matches. These matches would have given Sagar the opportunity to add more lustre to his efforts.
Mohammadreza Chiyaneh played two matches more than Sagar and finished with seven tackle points more. With Pawan Sehrawat joining the Tamil Thalaivas this season, the chances of the Chennai-based franchise qualifying for the playoffs are high.
Sagar Rathee will look forward to continuing in the same vein and scoring tackle points consistently for the Thalaivas.
#3 Fazel Atrachali, Puneri Paltan
Puneri Paltan roped in veteran Iranian left corner defender Fazel Atrachali at the Pro Kabaddi 2022 auction for a whopping ₹1.38 crore. Atrachali is the most successful foreign defender in PKL history, but he could not make much of an impact in the previous edition of the league, except in the occasional match.
Given how well Fazel has performed in the previous seasons, it should not be a surprise if he returns to form in Pro Kabaddi 2022. Fazel's former U Mumba teammate Anup Kumar has said that the Iranian should be allowed to play his natural game without any burden of captaincy.
It will be interesting to see if Puneri Paltan follow the suggestion given by their former head coach and unleash 'The Sultan' in PKL 9.
