The fifth season of the Pro Kabaddi League is on the brink of commencement with the first match scheduled to be played on the 28th of July. This time around, the domestic league of India’s homegrown sport will last for a good span of three months, with the final encounter scheduled to take place on the 28th of October.
The league will feature four new teams viz. Tamil Thalaivas, UP Yoddhas, Fortune Giants Gujarat and the Haryana Steelers in addition to the eight original teams, and thus there will be twelve teams from 11 states competing against each other for the coveted crown.
The champions from the inaugural edition, Jaipur Pink Panthers will be a major force to reckon with for the others given their hefty buys at the player auctions which were held in May. However, post the high of the first season there was a slump in the form of the Abhishek Bachchan owned-team and they finished 5th and 6th respectively in Season 2 and Season 3.
The fourth instalment, however, saw a comeback from the Pink city boys, wherein they made the cut to the finals but were not able to surpass the Patna Pirates in the penultimate encounter. But a close analysis of their side reveals that the team can go the distance this time around, and here are the five reasons why:
#1 Leadership of Manjeet Chhillar
The lion-hearted all-rounder is perhaps one of the best that the sport of kabaddi has ever witnessed, and for Jaipur to secure his services for the upcoming season it would have surely been their highest point from the player auctions. With a plethora of skills and years of playing experience to his credit, he makes for an ideal captain to lead the Jaipur franchise, as he was for the Puneri Paltan and Bengaluru Bulls in the past years.
And if his words are anything to go by, Jaipur will surely emerge as the champions, “I believe that a captain should always be an all-rounder, more so a defender. Because defenders are the ones who spend the most time on the mat. If the defence crumbles, the whole team is out. The main role of a captain to decide who to send to raid, depending on the second raid or third raid. My main target is to reach the final and for that, it’s necessary that we win every single match that we play.”
#2 The core duo of Jasvir Singh and Navneet Gautam
While Jasvir has been a regular player with the team since the very inception, Navneet Gautam will mark his return in the league in the upcoming season post an injury due to which he was relegated to the bench.
The dynamic duo spearheaded the attack and defence respectively when Jaipur won the league in the first edition and will look to reprise their role in the same manner. In addition to this, the presence of these two veterans also eases off the pressure on Manjeet’s shoulders since the three are well aware of each others’ style of play and will hence be able to coordinate well on the kabaddi mat.
#3 Selvamani as the third raider
Most teams in the league cannot boast of having a specialist do-or-die raider in their ranks, but the case is different for the Pink Panthers. They have an edge above the others due to Selvamani’s presence and the young gun has numbers to back this claim. The youngster has the most successful percentage of third raids, as is evident from his 97 raid points off just 31 matches that he has played so far in the league.
#4 Coach Balwan Singh
One of the best coaches in the history of Kabaddi, Balwan Singh is the man in charge to oversee the proceedings at Jaipur.
A decorated player in his own right, Balwan Singh boasts of numerous achievements even in the capacity of a coach which include the 2014 Asian Games gold medal for the Indian men's' team and following it up with the yellow metal once again at the Kabaddi World Cup last October. Thus his experience and tactical acumen particularly make him the ideal candidate for the task at hand.
#5 Making up for the missed chance
The Jaipur team narrowly missed out on the title last season despite reaching the finals wherein they slumped to defeat against the Patna Pirates.
They will be looking to cross that one ultimate hurdle this time around in order to make up for their missed chance from the past season and will be looking to fetch the much-deserved glory for the team, owners and their fans alike.
