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The new Pro Kabaddi League season is merely a few days away and promises to be a truly historic one. For the first time, it will feature a total of 12 teams, after four new ones were added for Season 5, who will be split into two zones of six each and will contest nearly 140 matches spread across a time period of three months.
In May, the player auctions were held that saw the pack being shuffled from the previous editions and the players distributed among the 12 franchises. The eight existing teams were given the option to retain a player each and the side from the national capital, Dabang Delhi, opted to retain the mercurial Iranian all-rounder Meraj Sheykh.
After much anticipation, the man from Iran has been revealed as the captain of the Delhi franchise and will look to take his side to what will be their first ever knockout phase in five seasons. He joined the team just a few days before after returning from Iran and was announced as the team's captain on Facebook via a live video.
The Dabang side have not been able to reach the semifinal stage in the previous four editions, despite having strong names in their side. Last season, they had the likes of Meraj Sheykh, Kashiling Adake, Sachin Shingade and Selvamani K, all of whom are extremely talented players but were unable to maintain a consistent level of player over the course of the league phase.
While they were able to score points in matches, the key area of concern for them was their defence, which was breached far too often by opposing raiders, who at times, seemed to take points off the Delhi side at will. Looking at their auction purchases, it seems clear that the team management is determined not to let the same happen again in the new edition.
The team from Delhi spent big on Nilesh Shinde and Bajirao Hodage, both of whom are top-notch defenders and have been playing together in the domestic circuit for years. In their raiding department, they have the likes of Ravi Dalal, Rohit Baliyan and Abolfazl Maghsodlou to turn to.
They suffered a huge blow after star raider Suraj Desai, who was bought for Rs 52.50 lakhs, was ruled out of the campaign due to injury. But with their strength in depth, it will be interesting to see how the team fares over the course of the three-month season.
