'%20x='0'%20y='0'%20height='100%25'%20width='100%25'%20%0A%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20xlink%3Ahref='data:image/jpg;base64,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'%3E%3C/image%3E%3C/svg%3E)
As an exciting two-day auction ahead of the upcoming sixth season of the VIVO Pro Kabaddi League came to a close, social media was buzzing with anticipation as big names such as Monu Goyat, Rahul Chaudhari amongst others were making rounds, having earned fat contracts which put their name in the record books.
While raiders Monu Goyat (₹151 lakh) and Rahul Chaudhari (₹129 lakh) emerged as the costliest buys, all-rounder Deepak Niwas Hooda (₹115 lakh), Nitin Tomar (₹115 lakh) and U.P Yoddha's Rishank Devadiga (₹111 lakh) capped off the 'crorepati' league which also had some foreign flavour in the form of Fazel Athrachali (₹100 lakh), who was bought by U Mumba.
With little more than a couple of months to go for yet another riveting season of intense Kabaddi, the teams have been formed and a lot of permutation and combination around the team structure has been spoken about. Given the number of experienced players in each team, we take a look at the possible captaincy options for each of the twelve franchises in the fray.
#12 U. P Yoddha - Rishank Devadiga
Following a very good debut season with the U.P Yoddha last time around, Rishank Devadiga's good run saw the Yoddha management keeping faith in their talismanic raider, opting to use their 'Final Bid Match' card to retain his services for the upcoming season at a big price of ₹111 lakh.
Over the past few seasons, Rishank has always played under the shadows of the likes of Anup Kumar, Nitin Tomar and in the upcoming season, Rishank will undoubtedly take up the lead raider's role with Prashant Kumar Rai and Shrikant Jadhav for company while the defence will be led by the sturdy Jeeva Kumar.
One of the leading raiders in the history of the league, Rishank Devadiga's agile raiding interlaced with the understanding of situations can hold him in good stead to lead the Yoddha.
#11 U Mumba - Fazel Athrachali
For the past five seasons, U Mumba has been led by the veteran raider Anup Kumar and for the upcoming edition of the league, U Mumba will not only miss him as a skipper but also as one of their lead raiders as he will turn out for the Jaipur Pink Panthers.
In the auctions, U Mumba broke the bank to procure the services of Iranian left corner Fazel Athrachali for a whopping ₹1 crore and given his exploits in the league's history, one could well understand the morale behind the contract.
154 points from 56 matches and one of the most decorated defenders in the league, Fazel will also have the experienced Dharmaraj Cheralathan on the right corner and is certainly a captaincy option for U Mumba.
#10 Telugu Titans - Rahul Chaudhari
The poster boy of Indian Kabaddi will be seen in Yellow for the sixth consecutive season, with the Titans opting to use their 'Final Bid Match' card for their versatile raider, who holds the record for the most points in the league, 710 from 79 matches.
Surprisingly released ahead of the auction with the Titans opting to retain Nilesh Salunke and Iranian raider Mohsen Maghsoudlou instead, a cloud of uncertainty hovered around Rahul's return to the Titans but it was all a matter of time as the Titans did not get bogged down by the massive ₹129 lakh price tag as they exercised their card to get back their best raider and possibly, the captain for the upcoming season.
#9 Tamil Thalaivas - Ajay Thakur
One of the only teams to have a plethora of captaincy options is the Tamil Thalaivas, who made some bargain buys at the auction including big names such as Manjeet Chhillar and Jasvir Singh, both shockingly bought at their base prices.
Having retained the lanky and experienced Ajay Thakur after an impressive show in the previous season, the Thalaivas also made some other good buys such as Sukesh Hegde and Surjeet Singh.
With Thakur having also been named the skipper of the squad ahead of the International Kabaddi series in Dubai, Thakur can be well expected to continue leading the Thalaivas in the upcoming season.
#8 Puneri Paltan - Sandeep Narwal
One of the most decorated all-rounders in the league for his fearless tackling and nippy raiding, Sandeep Narwal was retained by the Puneri Paltan for his experience and ability to single-handedly win matches for his team.
Having made the right corner position his own over time, the burly all-rounder has also been spotted to be a very animated player on the mat, often voicing out his opinion during his tenure with the Telugu Titans and in the recent season, with the Puneri Paltan.
With his acres of experience coming into play, Sandeep's all-round prowess and understanding of the game can certainly see the Paltan giving him the captain's role for the upcoming season.
#7 Patna Pirates - Pardeep Narwal
A no-brainer when it comes to the captaincy role as Pardeep Narwal will in all probability continue to lead the defending champions after leading them to a title victory last season.
Undoubtedly one of the most feared raiders for his ability to pick points at ridiculous ease, Pardeep Narwal's raiding skills has earned him a heap of records in the recent past and also shattered the record for most points in a season in the last edition, when he picked up 369 points from 26 matches, with all of them being raid points.
This time around, Pardeep will not have Monu Goyat for company but instead will find company in Deepak Narwal, Surender Singh and the impressive youngster Tushar Patil.
#6 Jaipur Pink Panthers - Anup Kumar
One of India's most successful captains and a warhorse, Anup Kumar will be playing for the Jaipur Pink Panthers in the upcoming season and will only be his second team, having represented U Mumba for five seasons since the inception of the league.
Released by U Mumba ahead of the auctions, there was a lot of chatter around where Anup Kumar would fit in and with the Panthers opting to let go of Manjeet Chhillar as well, the ex-Indian skipper would fit right in.
546 points from 78 matches do indeed paint a pretty picture and Anup would want to bank on that as he will raid alongside Deepak Niwas Hooda, who was bought for a whopping ₹115 lakh rupees and will certainly aid Anup in planning the downfall of the opponents.
#5 Haryana Steelers - Surender Nada
The Steelers did create history by awarding Monu Goyat a ₹151 lakh contract to make him the costliest ever player in the history of the Pro Kabaddi League but they also did the right thing in getting back their skipper Surender Nada who also emerged as the best defender of the season.
One of the best defenders in the league, Nada's efficiency at the left corner has worked wonders for each franchise he has represented and in the upcoming season, he will be playing without the trusted aid of Mohit Chhillar, who will be turning out for the Jaipur Pink Panthers.
This year, with the acquisition of Sachin Shingade, Neeraj Kumar and Vikas, the Steelers will be banking on the experience Nada brings to the fore and lead the defence department.
#4 Gujarat Fortunegiants - Sachin Tanwar/ Hadi Oshtarak
Ahead of the season, Gujarat opted to retain young blood in the form of Sachin Tanwar, Mahendra Ganesh Rajput and defender Sunil. In the previous season, Gujarat's dominance was underlined by the impressive raiding of Sachin Tanwar, who picked 173 points from 24 matches.
This season, with no big names in the Fortunegiants squad who have the experience to lead the squad, Gujarat can well look to Sachin to lead the squad or turn to Hadi Oshtarak, who has a lot of game time from the league as well as the international scenario.
#3 Dabang Delhi - Meraj Sheykh
The Iranian all-rounder was retained by Dabang Delhi ahead of the auctions and will most likely continue to lead the squad for the upcoming season. With the addition of some high profile names such as Vishal Mane, Joginder Narwal and Ravinder Pahal, the defence looks well set.
In the raiding department, which was lacking last season, Delhi have done well to procure the services of Chandran Ranjith, Shabeer Bapu and Pawan Kadian, who can certainly give some breathing space to the Iranian, who might be seen playing more freely in the season.
#2 Bengaluru Bulls - Rohit Kumar
One of the best raiders in the league, it came as no surprise that the Bulls opted to retain their skipper from last season, who single-handedly won the game for the Bulls with his mixed bag of tricks while raiding.
While the captaincy responsibility did not affect Rohit Kumar's individual performance, the fact that he did not get support dented the Bulls' cause which seems fixed this season with the vital additions of Kashiling Adake and Pawan Kumar Sehrawat.
The defence too looks well set with Raju Lal Choudhary, Mahender Singh and Jasmer Gulia joining the squad along with young all-rounder Ashish Kumar which will be good news for skipper Rohit Kumar.
#1 Bengal Warriors - Surjeet Singh
Over the past few seasons, the Bengal Warriors have been a team which has not consistently performed as a unit but the scenario was different in the previous season with Surinder Singh taking up the mantle that took the Bengal Warriors all the way till the eliminator stage.
Retained alongside lead raider Maninder Singh, Surjeet Singh's fearless tackling and immaculate understanding of the game will yet again come to the fore as the Warriors have managed to retain their core with the re-addition of Ran Singh, Jang Kun Lee and Shrikant Tewathia from the auctions.
What are your thoughts? Whom do you think will captain their side? Let us know in the comments section below!
