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The auction of the VIVO Pro Kabaddi League Season 7 is just three days away as all the 12 franchises will getting their final plans in place ahead of the auction. The teams had earlier released the list of players retained by them for the upcoming season and a lot of talented names missed out on the list.
Also Read - Pro Kabaddi League Season 7: Official list of the Elite Retained Players announced
Last year's Crorepatis namely Rahul Chaudhari, Rishank Devadiga will go under the hammer on 8th and 9th April. But, apart from the mainstream raiders, a host of mighty defenders will also be a part of the auction.
The defenders are the cornerstones of a Kabaddi team as no team can win a tournament relying on their raiders only. The defenders play an important role in stabilizing the lead and thus, all the franchises will look to pick the best defenders for their team.
Here's a look at the top 5 defenders to watch out for in the auction -
#5 Ravinder Pahal
Performance in PKL 6 - 59 tackle points in 22 matches
Ravinder Pahal has been the main defender of Delhi since the season he made his PKL debut. Though he had a stint with the Bengaluru Bulls midway, he returned to his first franchise soon.
The right corner defender will surely be one of the most sought after players in the auction as Pahal not only has a strong defense technique but he also has an immense amount of experience playing in the Pro Kabaddi League.
Ravinder Pahal finished with 59 points in 22 matches last season and played an important role to help Delhi reach the play-offs for the first time.
#4 Vishal Bhardwaj
Performance in PKL 6 - 60 tackle points in 17 matches
With a tally of 60 points in just 17 games, Telugu Titans' defender Vishal Bhardwaj emerged as the top defender of his franchise in Pro Kabaddi League season 6. He had an average of more than three points per match in the defense, which shows the huge amount of responsibility he took on his shoulders.
Even in season 5, the 22-year-old player had picked 71 tackle points in 22 matches. Though he is young, he has a lot of experience as a PKL player.
The young defender was not retained by his franchise ahead of the auction which means he will go under the hammer this year and a lot of franchises will look out to snap him in the auction.
#3 Surender Singh
Performance in PKL 6 - 62 tackle points in 22 matches
Surender Singh provided ample support to Iranian defender Fazel Atrachali in the defense department of U Mumba last season. The aggressive defender tried his best to gain as many points as possible while playing at right cover.
Initially, Singh used to give away points to the opposition raiders but last year he improved his performance to emerge with 62 tackle points to his name in 22 matches.
Surender's fearless approach helped U Mumba make it to the playoffs of the Pro Kabaddi League season 6 and it is rather surprising that the Ronnie Screwvala owned franchise has decided against retaining him for season 7.
#2 Parvesh Bhainswal
Performance in PKL 6 - 86 tackle points in 25 matches
The key reason behind Gujarat Fortunegiants' success in the Pro Kabaddi League was not their raiding department but it was the defensive pair of Sunil Kumar and Parvesh Bhainswal who took the team to the next level. Bhainswal was earlier a part of the Jaipur Pink Panthers but the franchise could not use him to his maximum potential.
Parvesh's fortunes changed when he joined Manpreet Singh's team and formed an unbeatable pair with Sunil Kumar.
Kumar has been retained by the Gujarat franchise but surprisingly Bhainswal who in fact performed better than Sunil last year has been let go by the Fortunegiants.
The chances that Gujarat will buy him back in the auction are very high but the other teams will also keep an eye on this defender.
#1 Nitesh Kumar
Performance in PKL 2018 - 100 tackle points in 25 matches
U.P. Yoddha scripted the most dramatic turnaround in PKL history last season when they qualified for the second round after languishing at the bottom for the better part of the league stage. The joint efforts of the raiders and right corner Nitesh Kumar helped U.P. Yoddhas achieve the unthinkable and make it to the final 3 of season 6.
Though U.P. failed to win the title, they won the hearts of the fans with their never say die spirit. Nitesh Kumar took 100 tackle points in season 6 at an average of 4 points per match but the Yoddhas have not retained him ahead of season 7.
As a result, he will the hottest property in this year's auction as almost every team would want him to be in their right corner.
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