Pro Kabaddi Season 7 starts today at Gachibowli Indoor Stadium in Hyderabad. Starting in 2014, Pro Kabaddi League has become a popular sports league and has also seen an increasing viewership since the past 3 – 4 years. New season, some new faces in each squad will gel with experience and talented kabaddi players from India and overseas.
Last season was really amazing, It was the first time in Pro Kabaddi history that 5 raiders went past 200-raid points and Nitesh Kumar scored 100 tackle points in a season. Looking back at the winners of PKL since 2014, Patna Pirates is the only team that has managed to a consecutive hat-trick of titles. Jaipur Pink Panthers beat U Mumba in the inaugural season to claim the first title while U Mumba defeated Benguluru Bulls to win second title and Bengaluru Bulls defeated Gujarat Fortune Giants to win Season 6 title and become the defending champions for this season.
Here is the list of Pro Kabaddi League winners year and season wise:
- PKL Season 1 winner (2014) – Jaipur Pink Panthers
- PKL Season 2 winner (2015) – U Mumba
- PKL Season 3 winner (2016 January) – Patna Pirates
- PKL Season 4 winner (2016 June) – Patna Pirates
- PKL Season 5 winner (2017) – Patna Pirates
- PKL Season 7 winner (2018) – Bengaluru Bulls
Lets look at the squads for Pro Kabaddi League 2019:
Bengal Warriors
- Captain: Maninder Singh
- Coach: BC Ramesh
- Owner: Birthright Games & Entertainment Private Limited
Bengal Warriors have retained 4 players which includes the right corner defender Baldev Singh and Maninder Singh as raiders with other two young talents. Bengal Warriors went with the highest bid of 77.75 lakh for the Iranian all rounder Mohammad Nabibakhsh. In a tight clock counter where your team needs a flip from losing side to winning side, Nabibakhsh is the man who can do a super raid for you and the same was seen in the match between World 7 vs India 7.
In an attempt to strengthen the raiding side of the team Bengal Warriors decided to let go of their former star Jang Kung Lee. But with players like Jeeva Kumar, Sukesh Hegde, Naveen Narwal, and talented raider like K. Prapanjan, Bengal Warriors will be tough competitors this season.
Team: Maninder Singh, Ravindra Kumawat, Mohammad Taghi (Iran), Rakesh Narwal, Sukesh Hegde, Bhuvneshwar Gaur, K. Prapanjan, Baldev Singh, Adarsh T, Sahil, Mohammad Nabibakhsh, Rinku Narwal, AR Avinash, Amir Santosh Dummal, Viraj Vishnu Langde, Vijin Thangadurai, Dharmendra Singh, Amit, Jeeva Kumar, Naveen Narwal.
Bengaluru Bulls
- Captain: Rohit Kumar
- Coach: Randhir Singh Sehrawat
- Owner: WL LEAGUE PRIVATE LIMITED
This season the defending champions will be lead by the talented raider Rohit Kumar. Kumar once got 32 points in a single match and is a very good raider, specially when he tries his frog jump. There are some young and new faces in team who will follow their coach, Dronacharya award nominee Randhir Singh Sehrawat.
Where the raiding side looks very confident with raiders like Pawan Kumar Sehrawat, Rohit, and Vinod Kumar, the defending side will face a challenge. Mahender Singh was the biggest buy for Bengaluru and a good choice to have a experience left cover with more that 50% strike rate in defense. Defending champs will be desperate to make it into the playoffs.
Team: Rohit Kumar, Ashish Kumar, Pawan Kumar Sehrawat, Amit Sheoran, Sumit Singh, Mohit Sehrawat, Banty, Mahender Singh, Sanjay Shreshtha, Lal Mohar Yadav, Raju Lal Choudhary, Vijay Kumar, Vinod Kumar, Aman, Sandeep, Ajay, Ankit, Sourabh Nandal.
Dabang Delhi
- Captain: Joginder Singh Narwal
- Coach: Krishan Kumar Hooda
- Owner: Mrs. Radha Kapoor Khanna
Dabang Delhi retained two star players, Joginder Narwal and Meraj Sheykh from Iran and the finest all-round player in the history of PKL. Meraj is know for his best raiding skill which includes scorpion kick as his signature but he is also the best when it comes to defense. Chandran Ranjit was the biggest buy of 70 Lakhs which adds experience in the raiding unit.
This season Dabang Delhi has the best defense squad that you could imagine which includes some big names like Ravinder Pahal, Vishal Mane, Saeed Ghaffari, and Anil Kumar. If the defense works perfect and all rounders keep the raid points going, Delhi would definitely make their way into the playoffs.
Team: Meraj Sheykh, Joginder Narwal, Chandran Ranjit, Ravinder Pahal, Vijay Malik, Vishal Mane, Saeed Ghaffari, Anil Kumar, Prateek Patil, Neeraj Narwal, Satywan D, Sombir, Aman Kadian, Naveen Kumar, Sumit Kumar.
Gujarat Fortune Giants
- Captain: Sunil Kumar
- Coach: Manpreet Singh
- Owner: Adani Wilmar Ltd.
Fortune Giants started their PKL journey just a couple of years ago and they have finished both the seasons as runner ups. It will rely on the shoulders of coach Manpreet Singh to change the fortunes this season for Gujarat. Parvesh Bhainswal (75 Lakhs), Ruturaj Koravi (30.5 Lakhs) and Vinod Kumar (26 Lakhs) were top picks for Giants in this auction.
Giants have an experienced defense unit with the likes of Sonu, Parvesh, Ruturaj and the captain himself. Abolfazl, Gurvinder and Rohit Gulia will have to take responsibility of scoring the raid points for the team. Overall, a balance side and one that can win a spot in the playoffs.
Team: Sachin Tanwar, Sunil Kumar, Lalit Chaudhary, Rohit Gulia, Parvesh Bhainswal, Ruturaj Koravi, Vinod Kumar, Abolfazl Maghsoudloumahali, Gurvinder Singh, Sonu Gahlawat, More GB, Sonu, Abhishek, Pankaj, Amit kharb, Mohammad Shazid Hossain, Harmanjeet Singh.
Haryana Steelers
- Captain: Dharmaraj Cheralathan
- Coach: Rakesh Kumar
- Owner: JSW Sports
Joining in 2017, Haryana Steelers did very well in Season 5 and reached the playoffs but things didn’t go well last season for them. This year Steelers have retained only two players Kuldeep Singh, and Vikash Kandola both good in defense. Steelers bought Prashanth Kumar Rai for 77 Lakhs in this year’s auction. Prashant had a very good record in Season 5 and the team is looking forward for the same performance this season.
Vikash Khandola and Dharmaraj Cheralathan two great defenders on either side of the mats will make a perfect co-ordination and difficult escape for raiders this season. Steelers have got only one all rounder in the squad named Tim Phonchoo from Thailand. If they co-ordinate well this season, they can pick their maiden PKL 2019 title.
Team: Kuldeep Singh, Vikash Khandola, Vinay, Prashanth Kumar Rai, Dharmaraj Cheralathan, Ravi Kumar, Amir Mohammad Maleki, Tim Phonchoo, Vikas Kale, Selvamani K, Naveen, Subhash Narwal, Vikram Khandola, Parveen, Sunil, Arun Kumar HN.
Jaipur Pink Panthers
- Captain: Deepak Niwas Hooda
- Coach: Srinivas Reddy
- Owner: Abhishek Bachchan
Pink Panthers the inaugural season champions have been struggling really hard to get into the PKL playoffs each season. Mostly the young squad of talented players lead by Indian Gold Medal 2016 World Cup winner Deepak Niwas Hooda. Deepak Narwal and Nilesh Salunke will be the lead raiders for Panthers this season.
Amit Hooda, Sandeep Kumar Dhull will be the experienced defender for Panthers this season along with talents like Pavan TR, Sunil Siddhgawali, and Karamvir. Young all rounders in the squad will be hoping to make a debut this season.
Team: Deepak Niwas Hooda, Sandeep Kumar Dhull, Ajinkya Pawar, Lokesh Kaushik, Pavan TR, Sushil Gulia, Sachin Narwal, Amit Hooda, Deepak Narwal, Nilesh Salunke, Sunil Siddhgawali, Dong Gyu Kim, Malinda Chaturanga, Vishal, Karamvir, Guman Singh, Nitin Rawal, Santhapanaselvam.
Patna Pirates
- Captain: Pardeep Narwal
- Coach: Ram Mehar Singh
- Owner: Rajesh.V. Shah
The most successful franchise of PKL is back again with great line up this season. Pradeep Narwal also know as Dupki King is leading the side and scored 10 points in the first match of PKL 2019. Following Pradeep, other big names in the raiders unit are Jang Kun Lee (Korea) and Mohammad Maghsoudlou (Iran). Patna Pirates have a mixed defense unit with young talents like Mahendra Choudhary, Jawahar Dagar, Neeraj Kumar to experienced campaigners like Surender Nada.
Hadi Oshtorak along with Ravinder and Vikas Jaglan will play as all rounders as and when required for the team. Surender Nada (77 Lakhs) and Jang Kun Lee (40 Lakhs) were the biggest buys for Pirates this season as they are hoping to get their fourth title in PKL.
Team: Pardeep Narwal, Jawahar Dagar, Vikas Jaglan, Mohit, Surender Nada, Jang Kun Lee, Mohammad Maghsoudlou, Jaideep, Hadi Oshtorak, Neeraj Kumar, Mahendra Choudhary, Ravinder, Ashish, Naveen, Purna Singh, Bintu Narwal.
Puneri Paltan
- Captain: PO Surjeet Singh
- Coach: Anup Kumar
- Owner: Insurekot Sports Pvt. Ltd.
Puneri Paltan is one of the oldest teams of PKL history and they will be looking for their first title. 2016 was a great year for them as a team but the success graph is swinging like a pendulum. Paltans went ahead with a fresh team and Anup Kumar (former Indian player) has been appointed as cocah for PKL 2019.
Team has decided that Surjeet Singh will lead the team and defense unit along with Girish Maruti Ernak, Hadi Tajik (Iran), Deepak Yadav, Shubham Shinde, and Jadhav Balasaheb Shahaji. Nitin Tomar who bagged the second biggest auction price will lead the raiding unit. If plans are executed correctly, Paltans can win this year’s title.
Team: Nitin Tomar, PO Surjeet Singh, Girish Maruti Ernak, Pawan Kumar Kadian, Emad Sedaghatnia, Hadi Tajik, Amit Kumar, Satpal, Jadhav Balasaheb Shahaji, Darshan Kadian, Deepak Yadav, Sagar Krishna, Manjeet, Amit Kumar, Sandeep, Shubham Shinde.
Tamil Thalaivas
- Captain: Ajay Thakur
- Coach: E Bhaskaran
- Owner: IQuest Enterprises Pvt. Ltd. & Blasters Sports Ventures Pvt. Ltd.
Ajay Thakur will be leading Tamil Thalaivas this season. Thalaivas might have inexperienced defense side but that can be overcome with strong player list in the all rounder section. Mohit Chhillar and Manjeet Chhillar are the best two corners that you can have in your squad.
Ajay Thakur and Rahul Chaudhary are the dangerous duo that opponent’s defense has to tackle. Rahul is best at running hand touch while Ajay is good a frog jump between chain tackle. A very composite team and has more chance of winning this year’s title.
Team: Ajay Thakur, Victor Onyango Obiero, Manjeet Chhillar, Himanshu, M Abhishek, Rahul Chaudhari, Ran Singh, Mohit Chhillar, Milad Shiebak, Ajeet, Shabeer Bapu, Vineet Sharma, Yashwant Bishnoi, V. Ajith Kumar, Hemant Chauhan, Ponparthiban Subramanian, Anand.
Telugu Titans
- Captain: Abozar Mohajermighani
- Coach: Gholamreza Mazandarani
- Owner: Srinivas Sreeramaneni – Veera Sports
Telugu Titans spent 1.45 Crore on Siddharth Desai who plays as a raider this season. Gholamreza Mazandarani is appointed as head coach for Telugu Titans this season who led Iran to Gold Medal in 2018 Kabaddi World Cup.
Titans lost their first match at home against U Mumba but considering fresh young side Telugu Titans has the talented professional squad that can take the team into the playoffs. Dewitt Jennings is the only american player of PKL playing as all rounder for the Titans.
Team: Armaan, Krushna Madane, Farhad Rahimi Milaghardan, Manish, Akash Choudhary, Siddharth Desai, Abozar Mighani, Vishal Bhardwaj, Dewitt Jennings, C Arun, Amit Kumar, Mula Siva Ganesh Reddy, Suraj Desai, Rakesh Gowda, Ankit Beniwal, Kamal Singh, Rajnish.
UP Yoddha
- Captain: Nitesh Kumar
- Coach: Jasveer Singh
- Owner: GMR League games Pvt. Ltd
UP Yoddha retained 5 players this season which includes Amit Narwal (Left Cover) and Sachin Kumar (All rounder) along with three young talents. Nitesh Kumar (Captain) has been appointed as a captain which is a surprising decision considering other experienced campaigners like Rishank Devadiga or Monu Goyat. Goyat was the most expensive buy for 93 Lakhs in this year’s auction for Yoddha.
Looking at the Yoddha’s squad the lineup consist more of raiders and all round players. Can the experienced players help the young fresh talents to pull out a season win is what we have to wait and watch for UP Yodhha.
Team: Amit Narwal, Sachin Kumar, Nitesh Kumar, Arkam Shaikh, Azad Singh, Aashish Nagar, Monu Goyat, Shrikant Jadhav, Rishank Devadiga, Mohsen Maghsoudloujafari, Masud Karim, Gurdeep, Narender, Surender Singh, Gulveer Singh, Ankush.
U Mumba
- Captain: Fazel Atrachali
- Coach: Sanjeev Kumar
- Owner: Ronnie Screwvala
U Mumba has picked a very balanced side in this year’s auction while retaining the key player Fazel Atrachali who also will captain the side. The team performed really good against Telegu Titans in the first game and scored better points making two all outs in the game.
Rohit Baliyan, Dong Geon Lee (Korean) and Athul MS will be in charge of scoring raid points, Fazel Atrachali, Rajaguru Subramanian along with all rounders like Sandeep Narwal, Mohit Balyan will keep the tackle points going. Looking at the team potential U Mumba will make it the playoffs.
Team: Fazel Atrachali, Arjun Deshwal, Rajaguru Subramanian, Anil, Mohit Balyan, Gaurav Kumar, Sandeep Narwal, Rohit Baliyan, Dong Geon Lee, Young Chang Ko, Vinoth Kumar, Athul MS, Harsh Vardhan, Abhishek Singh, Ajinkya Rohidas Kapre, Harendra Kumar, Surender Singh.
