Pro Kabaddi League Season 5: PKL's one-team men

The Pro Kabaddi League is all set to get underway on July 28 for what will be its fifth edition. The new season will feature a total of 12 teams, four more than the previous seasons, after franchises from Haryana, Gujarat, Tamil Nadu and Uttar Pradesh have been added.

Last month, the players were signed up the teams following an auction, that saw all the top players being distributed among the dozen teams. The old eight teams were given the option to retain a player each, while the new ones had the option of a priority pick from the auction pool.

Many stars changed shop, which means that there are only four players who have the distinction of playing for one team in all five seasons. Let us take a look at Pro Kabaddi’s one-team men!

#1 Jang Kun Lee

The Korean has been one of the shining stars of the entire Pro Kabaddi entourage so far and has grown in stature with every passing season with the Bengal Warriors. Starting out as a rookie foreigner, he is now one of the premier raiders in the competition and was retained by the Warriors for a whopping Rs 80.3 lakhs.

In 51 matches, he has amassed a mammoth 243 raid points, which includes seven super 10s. He led Korea to a third-place finish in the Kabaddi World Cup last year and was the Kolkata side’s most important player in Season 4 as well. It will be fascinating to see how he fares sharing raiding duties with Maninder Singh and Deepak Narwal.

#2 Anup Kumar

Captain Cool will don the armband for Mumbai

The U Mumba man has been the team’s icon player for the entire duration of the Pro Kabaddi League and will continue to lead the side in the fifth season as well. He has led the Mumbai side to three finals and one title win, and is a valuable asset with his raiding and leadership abilities.

The 33-year-old has scored a massive 337 raid points over the course of the four seasons and was the Most Valuable Player in the inaugural edition of the league. He will now look to build another U Mumba side from scratch and it will be interesting to see how things play out in the coming months.

#3 Rahul Chaudhari

The poster boy of Indian kabaddi – Rahul Chaudhari has been the best raider in the Pro Kabaddi League over the last four seasons. The man from Bijnor has a total of 482 raid points, which includes a staggering 24 Super 10s.

He has led the Telugu Titans over the last four editions and will continue to do so after he was retained by the team before the auctions. He is yet to win a Pro Kabaddi title so far and let’s see if he can change that in season five!

#4 Jasvir Singh

Jasvir was part of India’s WC winning team

‘Scorpion King’ Jasvir Singh is quite a character on the mat – his raids are a treat to watch and he gets fired up during pressure situations, which certainly uplifts his team. He won the inaugural PKL title with the Jaipur Pink Panthers and was a part of the side for four seasons, but he was up for auction after the Jaipur side chose not to retain any player.

However, the side’s management showed no hesitation in picking him up for the upcoming season in the auction, doling out a sum of Rs 51 lakh for his services – a real bargain deal. Now with Manjeet Chhillar by his side, how Jasvir will lead the Pink Panthers is a fascinating prospect.

Edited by Staff Editor