Pro Kabaddi League 2018: Predicting Telugu Titans' starting seven for the initial matches

The franchise based on Hyderabad, Telugu Titans have been on a rollercoaster ride in their voyage to becoming Pro Kabaddi champions.

Their best performances came in Season two when they ended their run at the 3rd position. Owned by Veera Sports, Telugu Titans have a winning percentage of just 45.12%.

The poster boy Rahul Chaudhari is the only Indian player to feature in a single team from the inaugural season of Pro Kabaddi till Season 6.

Having played over 79 matches with the Titans, Rahul is the first player to cross 700+ points in Pro Kabaddi, 710 points to be exact. He has led Telegu Titans for the majority of their wins with over 32 Super 10s to his name.

Filled with huge names in the past like Sandeep Narwal, Deepak Hooda, and Meraj Shyekh, Titans' defense has led them downwards for a lot of times. Lack of team coordination and only Rahul leading from the front has cost them a lot of matches.

In season 5, the team only could attain one victory from their home leg out of six games. No other raider apart from Rahul couldn't even score 100 raid points for their team.

Their second raider, Nilesh Salunkhe could only manage to get 98 raid points in 21 matches. They found some hope in the defense when Vishal and Sombir consistently performed but their covers were totally out of touch.

Titans retained Nilesh Salunkhe and Mohsen Maghsoudlu ahead of the auctions. Kamal Singh, Anand, and Ankit Beniwal were picked as their NYP retentions and they also announced Vishal Bhardwaj as their elite retentions in the dying stages before the auctions.

After Season 6 auctions, Telugu Titans have managed to sign 18 players in their squad. After an intense bid by Dabang Delhi K.C., Titans used their FBM card to retain Rahul Chaudhari at ₹1.29 crores, the 2nd highest paid player ahead of Season 6.

With Jag Mohan Lal as their head coach and Sai Prasad as their assistant coach, Titans have created a formidable side this season. Let's take a look at what the team might consider for their playing 7 in the initial matches.

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Right Corner: Abozar Mohajermighani

Abozar attempting a diving ankle hold over Mumba's Kuldeep Singh in Season 5

Abozar Mighani had played a vital role in Gujarat Fortune Giants' splendid run towards the finals of Season 5. Abozar with Fazel Atrachali stood as a pillar in the corner's defense.

Abozar magnificently scored 65 tackle points in 24 matches at an average of 2.71 tackle points per match. He just got 2 High5s, however, he showed consistency at a regular pace. A diving ankle hold specialist, Abozar can disrupt the left raiders without any margin of errors in his efforts.

Considering his ability to make things more difficult for big match raiders like Pardeep Narwal, Abozar was signed at an enormous deal of ₹76 lakhs. With Vishal Bhardwaj as his corner partner, this corner defensive duo is undoubtedly the strongest of them all.

Right In: Nilesh Salunkhe

Nilesh Salunkhe had a successful outing in the Senior National Kabaddi Championship 2017-18 with Maharashtra

Nilesh Salunkhe will be donning the yellow-black jersey for the third season, trustworthy support for Rahul Chaudhari.

Nilesh's major role in the team was to revive Rahul when he got tackled and get crucial do or die raid points.

Nilesh mainly keeps his hands in motion during his sequential footwork that pushes the defense towards the end line.

As he keeps the defense distracted, Nilesh steals a point either with bonuses or toe touches. He can execute running hand touches on the covers' pretty well.

Nilesh's form had lots of ups and downs last season but overall he has been a handy support (169 raid points in 43 matches). There might be a surprise as well if Nilesh gets selected for this year's captaincy.

Right Cover: Farhad Milaghardhan

Farhad Milaghar attempting a block over Bulls' Ajay Kumar in Season 5

Farhad Milaghardhan had an impressive debut last season, he scored 4 tackle points in 7 attempts in the opening encounter versus Tamil Thalaivas and went on to become the permanent right cover for the team.

His tackles are usually pinpoint with him diving over the thighs of raiders with the support coming pretty quickly. Farhad can also support pretty well when the left corner tries to dive/ execute an ankle hold.

Farhad scored 22 tackle points in 18 matches last season. In spite of having a lower average, Farhad's experience in the game of Kabaddi books his place into the starting 7 for the initial matches.

Center: Rakshith

Rakshith has some good escapes and hands touches in his arsenal

This might be a surprise addition to a lot of Telugu Titans' fans out there. Rakshith was introduced into the team as a substitution in Season 5.

While Nilesh and Rahul were struggling against Patna Pirates in a group stage match, Rakshith maintained his composure and scored some crucial points throughout the match and kept them in balance till the very end.

He has only played six matches and brought 12 raid points with his ability to escape from the mightiest of defense.

Mohsen Maghsoudlu would certainly be an option for super substitution considering no teams has brought more than three foreign players on the mat. Rakshith will look to reach the expectations to book his permanent place in the playing 7.

Left Cover: Rakesh Kumar Singh

Rakesh assisting the corner defense with a block on Shabeer Bappu.

Rakesh Kumar Singh is the only experienced defender as a left cover in the Titans' squad this time around.

Rakesh sometimes brings a certain surprise factor in his game tackling big match players single-handedly.

In a match against Patna Pirates, Rakesh tackled Pardeep Narwal twice with his tackle on the lower body of Pardeep giving some glimpse of his defending techniques.

Although Rakesh averages one tackle point per match (49 tackle points in 49 matches), Rakesh is good as an assisting defender.

Rakesh can dash or block the raiders and stop them going towards the midline. With extra responsibility on his shoulders, Rakesh will look to uplift his record in the upcoming season.

Left In: Rahul Chaudhari

Rahul is the only Indian player to represent a single team in all season of Pro Kabaddi including the upcoming Season 6

Surprisingly, Rahul started his Pro Kabaddi voyage as a left corner defender. Now he holds the record of having most raid points with 666 raid points across all seasons. He averages 8.43 raid points per match with 32 Super10s up for grabs.

The poster boy, Rahul is a perfectionist in running hand touches and taking bonuses from the corner defense.

He is a notable raider who can raid from both left and right side. Last season, Rahul Chaudhari had 184 raid points in 22 matches, the only lone warrior who fought for the supremacy of Telegu Titans.

Considering his past experiences, Titans could make him free of captaincy as he isn't a considerable captaincy option.

If it happens, Rahul Chaudhari will be able to focus on his gameplay and we might see a more improvised version of Rahul in the days to come.

Left Corner: Vishal Bhardwaj

Vishal Bhardwaj, an ankle hold specialist was the 3rd best defender of Season 5.

Vishal Bhardwaj was undeniably the best young player of Pro Kabaddi Season 5 who caught the attention of many Kabaddi fans with his impressive display.

Given just two matches to play in Season 4, Vishal had a stellar 71 defense points in 22 matches the next season.

He averaged 3.26 tackle points per match with good ankle holds and fine diving ankle holds. Vishal looks a bit slender but his upper body strength allows him to execute chest holds which are beautiful to watch.

This young lad will bring immense power to the defense for Season 6 and will look to continue his winning exploits.