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VIVO Pro Kabaddi League 2019 is all set to commence from 20th July 2019. Maharashtrian raiding sensation Siddharth Sirish Desai emerged as the costliest player of the season seven auctons as the Telugu Titans signed him for ₹145 lakh.
Puneri Paltan used their FBM card to retain the services of Nitin Tomar for ₹120 lakh. Rahul Chaudhari (₹94 lakh), Monu Goyat (₹93 lakh), Sandeep Narwal (₹89 lakh) went to the Tamil Thalaivas, UP Yoddha, and U Mumba respectively.
Matches will begin from 7:30 PM IST and the home legs of all teams will commence from every Saturday of a new week. The top six teams on the points table will qualify for the playoffs and the final will take place on 19th October 2019.
The seventh edition of PKL will witness a double round robin format. Unlike last two seasons, there will be no zones, inter-zonal matches,intra-zonal and wild card matches in this PKL edition. All teams will play each other twice in the group stage.
As we build up to the upcoming season, we take a look at the players, part of the former 'Zone B' teams who may lead their respective side in the upcoming seventh edition of PKL. The analysis made based on the players' experience and leadership quality.
Bengal Warriors - Maninder Singh
Maninder Singh started his PKL career in the inaugural season. He was the part of Jaipur Pink Panthers which won the trophy. However, he was soon hit by injury concerns and did not play the next three seasons.
Maninder made his comeback in PKL 5. He featured for the Bengal Warriors and enjoyed a top season, finishing with 192 points from 21 matches. In the next season, Maninder was retained by the Warriors and he repaid the faith as he went on to score 206 points from 22 matches.
Across three seasons, Maninder has scored 526 raid points in 59 matches at an average of of 8.92 points per match and is an integral part of Bengal Warriors' offensive department.
With ex-captain Surjeet Singh shifting to the Puneri Paltan, Maninder Singh is the only player in the current Warriors team who knows the strengths and weaknesses, making him a capable player to lead the team.
Bengaluru Bulls - Rohit Kumar
Rohit Kumar has established himself as a calm and composed captain of Pro Kabaddi after leading the Bengaluru Bulls to a title win in the previous season of the franchise-based league. An all-around performance from the team under the calm leadership of Rohit Kumar was the highlight of Bengaluru's maiden title win.
Rohit has been consistent season after season in Pro Kabaddi as the captain leading from the front. In season 6, he received support from Pawan Sehrawat in the offensive charge that enabled Rohit to deliver as a captain.
The Bulls skipper has 576 raid points in 72 matches at an average of 8.11 raid points apart from which he has also notched up 23 Super 10s to his name.
Ahead of the upcoming season, the Bulls have reserved a core team which won the title. Randhir Sehrawat as the coach with Rohit Kumar as the team's leader will allow the team to deliver consistent performances in the tournament. It will come as no surprise if Rohit continues to lead this team.
Patna Pirates - Surender Nada
Ankle hold specialist Surender Nada has established himself as one of the best-left corners in the league. Nada has bundles of experience in the league, having played for U Mumba, Bengaluru Bulls and Haryana Steelers across six seasons of the league.
In PKL season 6, Surender Nada got injured in the very first match of the league which ruled him out of action for the entire season. For the upcoming season, a fully fit Surender Nada will be rearing to play alongside Pardeep Narwal at the Patna Pirates.
Surender Nada was the captain of Haryana Steelers in PKL 5 and helped his team to qualify to the playoffs. Though Pardeep has delivered a title win for the Pirates, he could not produce the magic last season.
Additionally, if Nada is made the captain, Pardeep can freely deliver his performance without any pressure. There is a possibility that Nada could be captaincy choice for the Pirates.
Tamil Thalaivas - Ajay Thakur
Indian Kabaddi team captain Ajay Thakur has played all the seasons of PKL. He played the first two editions for the Bengaluru Bulls. He then represented Puneri Paltan in the next two seasons before he moved to the Tamil Thalaivas in season 5.
Ajay Thakur led Tamil Thalaivas back in season 5 and season 6 but the team failed to stitch together individual performances that saw them finishing rock-bottom from Zone B in both the seasons.
Thakur is known to be a calm, yet attacking captain who believes in giving opportunities to younger talent and leading the team by his own example in crucial situations. The third highest scorer of the league, Ajay has 732 raid points out of 102 matches at an average of 7.18 raid points and will be crucial to his team's chances.
With the formidable support in raiding unit through Rahul Chaudhari and a defensive unit boasting of the likes of Manjeet Chhillar, Mohit Chhillar and Ran Singh, Thakur will certainly have a star-studded team to lead.
With the likes of big match players and coach E. Bhaskaran, Ajay Thakur could be once again leading Tamil Thalaivas in Season 7.
Telugu Titans - Vishal Bhardwaj
One of the finds of the tournament back in Season 5 for Telugu Titans, Vishal Bhardwaj has emerged as one of the defensive walls for the team. His brilliance on the defensive front led the team management to hand him the captaincy in season 6.
An expressive captain, Vishal Bhardwaj led the team with fluency and won many matches for Titans in the first half of season 6. He formed a deadly combination with Abozar Mighani in the defense unit and allowed his raiders to attack in every raid without any pressure.
An ankle hold specialist, Bhardwaj has 131 tackle points in 39 matches since his debut, averaging 3.36 tackle points with the Telugu Titans.
With a new coach in Gholamreza Mazandarani, the team management could be tempted to give the captaincy to Abozar, but which Vishal doing well last season, he will be expected to lead the team yet again.
UP Yoddha - Rishank Devadiga
Having started his career back with U Mumba in the inaugural season as a Do or Die raider, Rishank Devadiga has come a long way to establish his reputation in the Pro Kabaddi League. Four seasons with U Mumba under Anup Kumar has allowed him to become a calculative captain today.
At the back of consistent shows in the league, his services were procured by the UP Yoddha in PKL season 5. In PKL 6, Rishank Devadiga was named as the captain of UP Yoddha. Initially, UP Yoddha lost some matches but Rishank with his brilliant captaincy skills, uplifted his team as they surprisingly made it to the playoffs and then on to the second qualifier.
The team lost the qualifier against Gujarat Fortune Giants, however, Rishank earned praised for his captaincy as his game plan and strategies proved to be beneficial for UP Yoddha.
Rishank is an attacking raider and a thinking captain that makes him perfect for the role of UP's skipper.
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