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Two-time finalists Gujarat Giants have raised many eyebrows with their auction strategy this year. They entered the Pro Kabaddi 2022 Auction with the highest purse among all franchises. However, they failed to sign even one player from the 'A' category.
The Giants submitted the winning bids for Pardeep Narwal and Sachin Tanwar, but both raiders were FBMed by their respective previous franchises. Eventually, the Giants came back from the auction with ₹54.99 lakh still remaining in their purse.
The Ahmedabad-based franchise retained seven players ahead of the Pro Kabaddi 2022 Auction. Here is the complete Gujarat Giants squad for PKL 2022:
Sonu, Rakesh, Gaurav Chhikhara, Sonu Singh, Sohit Malik, Parteek Dahiya, and Rohan Singh, Chandran Ranjit, Pardeep Kumar, Dong Geon Lee, Young Chang Ko, Arkam Shaikh, Shankar Bhimraj Gadai, Rinku Narwal, Sourav Gulia, Sandeep Kandola, Vinod Kumar, Baldev Singh, Sawin, Purna Singh, Mahendra Ganesh Rajput, Ujjval Singh, Kapil, and Manuj.
As always, the defense of the Giants looks good on paper, but their raiding department seems a little weaker. On that note, here is their predicted playing seven for PKL 9.
Gujarat Giants Raiders - Rakesh HS, Pardeep Kumar and Chandran Ranjit
Rakesh HS was one of the seven players retained by the Gujarat Giants ahead of the Pro Kabaddi 2022 Auction. The rising star of Indian kabaddi had a great season in 2021/22, where he scored 140 raid points, including five Super 10s.
He is likely to lead the Ahmedabad-based franchise's raid attack in Season 9. Given how he performed in the previous tournament, it should not be a surprise if Rakesh emerges as the top scorer for Gujarat this season.
Pardeep Kumar scored 75 raid points last season and supported Rakesh well. He will continue in the secondary raider's role.
Veteran raider Chandran Ranjit has returned to the Giants squad. He has earned 431 points in 83 PKL matches so far.
Gujarat Giants defenders - Baldev Singh, Rinku Narwal, Young Chang Ko, and Ujjval Kumar
The corner duo of Baldev Singh and Rinku Narwal, which helped Bengal Warriors win PKL 7, has reunited at the Gujarat Giants for Season 9. Both defenders have much experience of playing together, and they will be the strongest pillars of the Gujarat defense in PKL 9.
With the exit of Parvesh Bhainswal and Sunil Kumar, the cover defense of the Ahmedabad-based franchise does not look so strong this year. Coach Ram Mehar Singh has multiple options available like Young Chang Ko, Ujjval Singh, Vinod Malik, Arkam Shaikh, Kapil Narwal, and Sourav Gulia in the squad.
Korean defender Young Chang Ko has the experience of playing as a right cover defender in the PKL, while Ujjval Singh, the first PKL player from the state of Gujarat, plays left cover. In the initial matches, fans may see Singh and Young taking up the two cover positions.
Gujarat Giants Predicted Playing Seven - Baldev Singh (Right Corner), Rinku Narwal (Left Corner), Rakesh HS (Right In), Chandran Ranjit (Left In), Young Chang Ko (Right Cover), Ujjval Singh (Left Cover) and Pardeep Kumar (Center).
