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While cricket fans all across the globe are celebrating the season of IPL, Mashal Sports on 25th March 2019 released the official list of Retained Elite Players for the seventh installment of the Pro Kabaddi League. The auctions will take place on the 8th and 9th of April. Also, the league is all set to commence from the 19th of July, 2019.
A total of 29 players were retained by the twelve franchises from every corner of India. Mashal Sports has now allowed the retention of six elite players instead of four, to increase team stability. Teams were permitted to retain players from either category A, B or C, with a maximum of two each from Category A and B.
A new category was introduced by the league where a team can retain a New Young Player once his two-year contract is completed under the Retained Young Players' category. The retained young players' list is yet to be revealed.
Anupam Goswami, League Commissioner, VIVO Pro Kabaddi said, “The League is cognizant of the significance of squad continuity and long-term association of players with their respective teams towards creating strong hooks and bonds for fans as well as sponsors."
He further stated, "With this realization, VIVO Pro Kabaddi League has consistently strengthened its Player Retention Policy to facilitate and augment squad continuity to benefit players as well as their teams.”
Let us now have a deeper look at the retained players' list:
Bengal Warriors
Bengal Warriors' management has retained Maninder Singh and Baldev Singh, which is a pretty fine decision. Maninder, ever since his comeback has done an exceptional job. He for sure is priceless for the team.
Baldev Singh showed a satisfactory performance last season and pitched in points whenever required. This right corner defender managed to scoop in a total of 28 points in 18 matches in his debut attempt.
However, it is a shocker as elite players like Surjeet Narwal, Ran Singh, and South Korean superstar Jang Kun Lee, were not retained by the franchise. They have contributed massively in the past; not retaining them might cost the Warriors heavily.
Bengaluru Bulls
The defending champions Bengaluru Bulls, have retained Rohit Kumar, the sublime Pawan Sehrawat and Ashish Sangwan. The team management made an apt decision by keeping these three prolific players in the team.
Pawan Sehrawat, the MVP of the Bulls, was the reason why Bengaluru Bulls lifted the trophy last season. He scored a leviathan total of 282 points in 22 matches, which was wickedly amazing! Rohit and Ashish, equally magnificent players, have been a part of the Bulls' squad since long.
Kashiling Adake, Harish Naik, and Bulldozer Mahender Singh would have added even more value to the squad. In spite of all that, the three players retained by Bengaluru are just perfect!
Dabang Delhi K.C.
Dabang Delhi, one of the best teams last season, have made a wise decision by retaining Meraj Sheykh and Joginder Narwal. Meraj, a textbook example of excellence, turned innumerable games upside down with his exceptionally intricate skills and larger-than-life jumps.
Joginder, the left-corner defender, was the perfect captain for the youngsters in Delhi's squad last season. He led the team well and scored 51 defense points in 22 matches.
Not to forget, there was proper teamwork in Dabang Delhi last season and without players like the "Hawk" Ravinder Pahal and Pawan Kadian. The management had the perfect opportunity to retain them.
Gujarat Fortune Giants
Sachin and Sunil Kumar have been retained by Gujarat Fortune Giants and we can't be any happier. Sachin has played every final in his PKL career and proved himself as a sensational player ever since his debut.
Sunil, on the other hand, proved to be a worthy captain and led his team to the finals. However, many players who should have been retained by the franchise are missing. What about the outstanding defender Parvesh Bhainswal?
Other mind-blowing players like Ajay Kumar, Dong Geon Lee, K. Prapanjan, Mahendra Rajput, Ruturaj and Rohit Gulia are also missing from the list. Well, we trust coach Manpreet Singh's intuition and hope the best for GFG!
Haryana Steelers
Haryana Steeler's management retained the young wonder Vikash Kandola & Kuldeep Singh. Kandola made a debut from Dabang Delhi and shifted to Haryana in season 5, showing some worth applauding skills.
He scored whopping 177 points in 22 matches, which made him one of the top raiders in the league last season. Kuldeep, the all-rounder, impressed everyone and had a not out percentage of 100.
Still, Monu Goyat, who grabbed the headlines for being the costliest man in season 6 auctions, who also scored an immense total of 164 points in just 20 matches, has not been retained by Steelers, which is indeed a shocker.
Jaipur Pink Panthers
Jaipur's management made the ideal decision by reviving two of the greatest strengths of the team, i.e., Deepak Hooda and Sandeep Dhull.
Deepak, who single-handedly supported tattering Pink Panthers throughout the season managed to score 208 points in just 22 matches. He was the only player who tried to save his team by pushing himself and pitching in a Brobdingnagian amount of points.
Sandeep Dhull, or as called by commentator Sunil Taneja, "Ladka khele beautiful naam Sandeep Dhull", did a terrific job last season for the Panthers. These two players very well deserved a place back into the team.
Patna Pirates
The three times PKL champions, Patna Pirates decided to retain Dubki King Pardeep Narwal, Vikas Jaglan, Jawahar, and Tushar Patil for the upcoming season. Narwal, who has been a record breaker ever since his debut managed to gather a total of 233 points last season.
Other than Pardeep, Patna's management failed to retain players like Manish, Vijay, Jaideep, Kuldeep Singh, and Manjeet. They did a commendable job last season.
Manjeet can still be a part of the squad if he gets revived under the young players' category. Nevertheless, Vikas Jaglan, Jawahar and Tushar Patil played well for their team in season 6.
Puneri Paltan
Puneri Paltan chose not to retain any player. They could have selected Sandeep Narwal, Rajesh Mondal or even GB More, but Paltan, with a new look, maybe wants to start fresh for the seventh season. We wish them all the best!
Tamil Thalaivas
Tamil Thalaivas did a great job by retaining the two jewels Ajay Thakur and Manjeet Chillar. They also revived Victor Obiero Onyango for the seventh season.
Thakur, who was honored by the glorious Padma Shri earlier this year is one of the best kabaddi players ever. He has scored 753 points in his PKL career, which is mind-boggling.
Arjuna awardee and One Man Army Manjeet Chillar is the best defender of PKL. Together, Fidus Achates Ajay and Manjeet can create magic once again and can win the shining trophy is season 7.
Not to forget mentioning the fact, players like Amit Hooda, C. Arun, and Sukesh Hegde would have been a substantial addition to the team.
Telegu Titans
Telugu Titans have retained Iranian heroes Farhad Milaghardan and Mohsen Maghsoudloujafari. They have also decided to bring Krushna Madane and Armaan back to the team.
Both Farhad and Mohsen have done a praiseworthy job for Titans, but players like poster boy Rahul Chaudhari, Irani powerhouse Abozar, Nilesh Salunke, and young Vishal Bhardwaj, have not been retained and that is astonishing news.
These players have done a laudable job in the previous seasons and deserved a second chance. Well, the only thing we can do is wait.
U Mumba
Fazel Atrachali, Rajaguru Subramanian and Arjun Deshwal have been retained by Ronnie Screwvala's U Mumba. Bringing Fazel back was a witty decision as this man has the ability to destroy the raiders with his wondrous ankle holds, dashes and blocks.
Players like Siddharth Desai, the best find of PKL so far, who scored a crazy total of 221 points in his debut league, Rohit Baliyan, Vinod Kumar, R. Sriram, Surender Singh, and Abhishek did not get retained.
This might be backstabbing for Mumbai's franchise. Nonetheless, auctions are yet to take place.
UP Yoddhas:
UP Yoddhas, who turned tables despite having a completely young team, have revived Amit and Sachin for the seventh season.
Honestly, the retention would have been better for them if they had chosen supreme players like Rishank Devadiga, Prashanth Kumar Rai, Shrikant Jadhav, and last season's best defender Nitesh Kumar, with 101 points in his bag.
They had a whole lot of brilliant players in the team, but it is a mystery as to why they chose not to bring back any of them. Maybe the team management and coach are plotting some strategy for season 7's auctions.
