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There's less than a month to go for the start of the ninth edition of the Pro Kabaddi League (PKL). The new season kicks off on October 7. Bengaluru, Pune, and Hyderabad will be the three host cities for the tournament where the 12 teams will compete.
There was plenty of hype leading up to the auction and it delivered on the expectations. Some monster bids were seen and there were plenty of exciting changes to team rosters, with Pawan Sehrawat's ₹2.26 crore move to the Tamil Thalaivas topping the lot.
Last season, Dabang Delhi KC pipped the Patna Pirates to the PKL 8 title with Naveen Kumar winning the Most Valuable Player (MVP) award for the second successive season. Plenty of teams are in the running to win PKL 9 and the same can be said about many players as far as the MVP award is concerned.
On that note, let's look at three such players who could finish as the Most Valuable Player at the end of PKL 9.
#3 Aslam Inamdar (Puneri Paltan)
The in-form Aslam Inamdar is a left-field pick to win the MVP award this season. One of the finds of PKL 8, the Maharashtra raider impressed in his debut season for the Puneri Paltan. Along with Mohit Goyat, Inamdar spearheaded a young Paltain raiding unit, scoring 169 raid points and 20 tackle points.
He also impressed in the recent National Kabaddi Championships, playing for a Maharashtra side that defied all odds to grab a second-place finish.
He's only likely to improve this season, and under the leadership of names like Fazel Atrachali and Mohammad Nabibakhsh, his game could soar. Apart from his raiding numbers going up, other factors also bode well for Pune.
While scoring points is the most important factor, winning the title with a team also improves a player's chances of receiving the MVP award. Pune could provide that advantage to Inamdar this season.
While he's by no means the favorite, don't be surprised to see Inamdar up there among the candidates to be the MVP in PKL 9.
#2 Naveen Kumar (Dabang Delhi KC)
The current holder of the MVP award after winning it in seasons 7 and 8, Naveen Kumar has a strong chance of making a hat-trick. He scored the fourth-highest raid points in PKL 8 despite playing only 17 matches. He was the embodiment of consistency and bagged 12 Super 10s, delivering in crunch situations for his team.
Delhi won their maiden PKL title last season, and Naveen's efforts were crucial to the side's success. Naveen spearheaded the Delhi raiding unit along with Vijay Malik and troubled opposition defenders regularly.
The Dabang side is a force to reckon with this season as well and is among the teams in with a shout to win the title. Naveen should play a crucial role and he stands a good chance of winning the MVP award yet again.
#1 Pawan Sehrawat (Tamil Thalaivas)
This one is very obvious. The most expensive player at the PKL 9 Auctions, Pawan Sehrawat, the 'Hi-flier' will ply his trade for the Tamil Thalaivas after the club shelled out a whopping ₹2.26 crore to secure his services.
The ex-Bengaluru Bulls captain has been the highest point-scorer in the Pro Kabaddi League for three seasons running and is, arguably, the best raider in the league.
He won the MVP award in season six, with the Bulls winning the title in that campaign. However, the lack of his team's success has robbed him of that opportunity in the last couple of seasons.
He'll look to lead the Tamil Thalaivas to a good finish this season and boost his chances of winning the MVP award this time around.
