Pro Kabaddi 2022: 3 players who missed PKL 2021 but are back this season

Pro Kabaddi 2022 (PKL) will start on October 7 with 12 teams vying for the prestigious trophy. The last few years have not been great for PKL due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The 2020 edition of the Pro Kabaddi League was canceled, while the 2021/22 season took place behind closed doors in Bengaluru. There was a COVID outbreak in the PKL bio-bubble, forcing the organisers to reschedule matches frequently.

However, the upcoming season of the Pro Kabaddi League promises to be one of the best ever. Fans will return to the stadiums to cheer for their favorite PKL teams for the first time since 2019.

Apart from fans, some popular PKL stars will also make their return to the kabaddi mat this year. On that note, here's a list of three players who missed the previous PKL season but have earned contracts for the upcoming tournament:

#1 Vinod Kumar

All-rounder Vinod Kumar has received a contract from the Bengal Warriors for the upcoming PKL season. He won the fifth edition of the PKL with Patna Pirates, while he played for the Gujarat Giants in Season 7, earning 10 points in 10 matches.

Kumar has a ton of experience under his belt. He could prove to be an asset for the Kolkata-based franchise.

#2 Young Chang Ko

South Korea's right cover defender Young Chang Ko missed the 2021 PKL season, but he will don the Gujarat Giants jersey in Pro Kabaddi 2022. Young has played for U Mumba, Jaipur Pink Panthers and Bengal Warriors in the past.

His last appearance in the league came in 2019 for U Mumba. The Korean defender scored nine points in 14 games for the Mumbai-based franchise.

#3 Sonu Jaglan will return in Pro Kabaddi 2022

Gujarat Giants raider Sonu Jaglan missed the 2021 PKL season because of an injury. He is back in the squad this year after recovering from his injury.

Sonu played 17 matches for Gujarat in 2019, scoring 76 points for the team. It will be interesting to see how he performs in Pro Kabaddi 2022.

About the author

Vinay has been working as a cricket journalist at Sportskeeda since 2018. A smart writer, he has a total previous work experience of 8 years working for the likes of Swag Cricket and Fambeat, and believes in thoroughly verifying each and every piece of information before writing any article. His meticulous methods have led him to amass a significant readership of close to 30 million at Sportskeeda, along with winning several awards such as Machine Writer, Top Earning Affiliate, and Perfectionist Writer in his Sportskeeda journey so far.

Vinay’s love for cricket blossomed when playing the sport during school days. Today, he is a staunch supporter of his home IPL side Gujarat Titans and is also the ambassador of franchise’s initiative Race with the Titans. Unsurprisingly, his all-time favorite cricketers also feature from his favorite IPL franchise - Rashid Khan, Matthew Wade, Sai Sudharsan and Shubman Gill.

When not writing, Vinay likes to play cricket and hang out with his friends. Being an industry veteran, his influence goes beyond the sport of cricket and has interviewed several Kabaddi stars such as Mohammad Nabibakhsh, Daniel Odhiambo, Vijay Malik, and Girish Ernak as well. He also is a fan of professional wrestling.

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Edited by Sudeshna Banerjee