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The group stage of the PKL Season 5 is done and dusted and now the six teams from Zone A and Zone B will battle it out in the super playoffs due to start on the 23rd of October 2017.
The 2017 Season 5 played host to some excellent calibre of raiding and defending that witnessed some exciting moments from every game. In the end, six teams made it to the next stage while the other six teams were out of contention.
In this slider, we try and form the best team from the big names that missed out from taking part in the playoffs.
#7 Vishal Bharadwaj [Telugu Titans]
The lynchpin of the Titans defence in the absence of some big names, Vishal's presence on the left corner made life easy for the rest of the defence. The youngster showed an excellent presence of mind and put in fearless tackles on some big names to get the confidence going in the Titans' camp.
Vishal collected most of his points through his trademark ankle hold and more often than initiated the tackles. In 22 matches, the left corner made 68 successful tackles and collected 71 tackle points from 137 total tackles. In addition to this, his dashes and the support he provided to other defenders was also vital for the Titans this season although they did not make it to the playoffs.
#6 Meraj Sheykh [Dabang Delhi]
Probably one of the only bright sparks in otherwise a dismal campaign for Dabang Delhi, skipper Meraj Sheykh's attempts to take his team to victory served futile as none of the other players could support their skipper.
However, the Iranian enjoyed a successful season overall, scoring 104 points with his agile raiding and strong defending. Although he did not contribute much to the defence, his presence on the mat and support during the super tackle opportunities helped the team.
The Iranian collected 96 raid points from 20 matches and scored with his knack to travel the court at a very fast pace coming to good aid.
#5 Amit Hooda [Tamil Thalaivas]
Manning the right corner for the Thalaivas, Amit Hooda brought all his experience into play to pick up 61 tackle points from 16 games.
With an average of 2.77 tackle points per match, Hooda not only collected tackle points for himself, he made his presence by giving support to the other defenders when it was needed. The 21-year old also initiated a total of six super tackles from 22 matches that only goes on to speak volumes about his importance to the squad.
#4 Manjeet Chhillar [Jaipur Pink Panthers]
The wall of the Panthers line-up, Manjeet Chhillar's defensive prowess came to the fore in each match he played and although he was involved in a few errors, the veteran's approach to the game and colossal blocking helped Jaipur to many wins.
Although the skipper of the Panthers was sidelined for a few matches due to injury, he made sure that he marshalled his troops around when he was on the mat and also performed individually, collecting 52 points from 15 matches.
Although it does not paint a pretty picture, Manjeet was an integral part of the defence and his experience can never be written off.
#3 Rahul Chaudhari [Telugu Titans]
The poster boy of Indian Kabaddi enjoyed yet another good season on a personal level as he collected 193 points from 22 matches of which 184 were raid points.
Leading the Titans this year as well, Rahul took the onus upon himself and delivered at crucial junctions and in the process also created history by becoming the first raider to reach the 600 raid points mark in PKL history during the match against U.P Yoddha.
With 159 successful raids, Chaudhari depended more on the bonus points to get his tally going while his quick hand touches came to good effect as he ended the season with eight Super-10s to his name.
#2 Ajay Thakur [Tamil Thalaivas]
Tall and experienced, Ajay Thakur's savvy raiding often got the Tamil Thalaivas out of troubled waters. From 22 matches, the Thalaivas skipper picked 213 raiding points and 9 tackle points taking his overall tally to 222 from 22 games.
Such was his proficiency that the Thalaivas skipper finished the tournament with 12 Super-10s to his name and 3 super raids to his name and will be famously remembered for his super raid against the Fortunegiants in the group stages when he snatched the game away from them with a magnificent raid to trigger wild celebrations in the Thalaivas camp.
#1 Rohit Kumar [Bengaluru Bulls]
Arguably one of the best raiders in the PKL, Rohit Kumar had yet another fantastic season albeit he did not get enough support to take his side into the playoffs. With 219 raid points from 22 encounters, Rohit finished the tournament on a high with a jaw-dropping performance against U.P Yoddha in the Bulls' penultimate match that saw him register 30 raid points in a single game, the highest ever in the history of PKL.
In the 22 games, Rohit collected 12 Super 10s to his name and performed exceptionally in every game while even lending a hand to the defence department. The Bulls skipper made use of his height and reach to excellent effect, calmly picking up points in heaps from his 192 successful raids.
