'%20x='0'%20y='0'%20height='100%25'%20width='100%25'%20%0A%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20xlink%3Ahref='data:image/jpg;base64,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'%3E%3C/image%3E%3C/svg%3E)
We're less than two days away from the start of the 10th edition of the Pro Kabaddi League (PKL). The Auction took place in the second week of October after both the Indian women's and men's teams clinched gold at the Asian Games, with plenty of surprising unsold names and some earth-shattering bids.
The teams had around a month and a half to prepare, and with the league almost on us, they capped their preparations for the season by announcing their captaincy roster. Let's look at the complete list of captains for all teams.
#1 Bengal Warriors - Maninder Singh
Bengal Warriors released star raider Maninder Singh before the auction but used their FBM card and close to half of their budget to re-sign him for PKL 10. He has been their captain for quite a while now, and having an experienced figure like him at the helm will certainly help the young core of this Bengal side to perform.
#2 Bengaluru Bulls - Saurabh Nandal
The Bengaluru Bulls released star left cover defender and their captain Mahender Singh, and right corner defender Saurabh Nandal has been announced as the side's new captain in PKL 10. Vikash Khandola has been named his deputy.
Saurabh has been a Bulls player throughout his PKL career and made a strong debut in PKL 7, and his performances have only gotten better and better. He picked up 74 tackle points in 24 matches last season, and he'll look to improve on those numbers and lead his side to another PKL title.
#3 Dabang Delhi KC - Naveen Kumar
"The Naveen Express" will continue to lead Dabang Delhi KC in PKL 10 as they look to secure their second PKL title after their win in PKL 8. Naveen continued his stellar run in the raiding department last season, but the team could only finish sixth on the points table, crashing out in the Eliminator.
This time around, Naveen will have national teammate Vishal Bhardwaj as his vice-captain as Delhi look to finish in the top 2 once again.
#4 Gujarat Giants - Fazel Atrachali
This man is no stranger to the responsibilities and burden that comes with captaining a PKL team as well as wearing a Gujarat Giants jersey. It's a homecoming for Fazel Atrachali as he'll play for the Gujarat Giants once more after leading them to the Final in their inaugural campaign. He's also, undoubtedly, their captain for the season, with Rohit Gulia serving as the vice-captain.
#5 Haryana Steelers - Jaideep Dahiya and Mohit Nandal
The Haryana Steelers have interestingly announced two captains for their upcoming PKL campaign, with their cover combination of Jaideep Dahiya and Mohit Nandal set to lead as co-captains with equal authority in PKL 10. They replace the veteran Joginder Narwal, who led the Steelers last season and has since joined Dabang Delhi KC as an assistant coach.
#6 Jaipur Pink Panthers - Sunil Kumar
One of India's best right cover defenders, Sunil Kumar will continue leading the Jaipur Pink Panthers as they look to defend their crown after clinching the title last time around.
#7 Patna Pirates - Neeraj Kumar
Right cover defender Neeraj Kumar is set to continue as the captain of the Patna Pirates for the upcoming season. The three-time champions finished runners-up in PKL 8, but could only manage a 10th-place finish last time around. Neeraj will want to restore the Pirates to the top half of the table.
#8 Puneri Paltan - Aslam Inamdar
Aslam Inamdar will lead last season's runners-up Puneri Paltan as they aim to go one up in PKL 10. The Asian Games gold medal winner will have big shoes to fill as he replaces Fazel Atrachali as the Puneri Paltan captain.
#9 Tamil Thalaivas - Sagar Rathee
The Tamil Thalaivas recovered superbly from the season-ending injury to star signing Pawan Sehrawat, and while the brilliance of young raider Narender Kandola was one of the main reasons, Sagar's performance in the right corner was an equally important component.
With left corner Sahil Gulia and raider Ajinkya Pawar as his deputies, Sagar is all set to take the reins of the side once more.
#10 Telugu Titans - Pawan Sehrawat
Who else but the captain of the Indian kabaddi team to wear the captain's armband for the Telugu Titans? Signing Pawan Sehrawat for a record-breaking sum of ₹2.60 crores could be just what the Titans needed to turn their fortunes around, and without any surprise, he's their captain heading into PKL 10.
#11 U Mumba - Surinder Singh
Surinder Singh was the designated U Mumba captain for PKL 9, and his injury-riddled campaign was good on a personal front (35 tackle points in 12 appearances), but it was another disappointing season for U Mumba.
However, with a much stronger side around him, Surinder is all set to lead the PKL 2 champions once again, with Mahender Singh and Ashish announced as the team's vice-captains.
#12 UP Yoddhas - Pardeep Narwal
The 'Dubki King' will continue to lead the UP Yoddhas in PKL 10 as they search for their first PKL title despite consistently making the playoffs in every season. Pardeep's form picked up in the second half of last season, leading to him finishing sixth on the list of top raiders. He'll look to be back to his best and lead the Yoddhas to a maiden PKL crown.
