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All 12 PKL teams announced their respective lists of retained players ahead of the Pro Kabaddi 2023 auction on Monday, August 7. UP Yoddhas, Jaipur Pink Panthers, Tamil Thalaivas, and Puneri Paltan have retained a majority of the players from their starting sevens of the last season.
Teams that did not qualify for the playoffs in the previous edition of the Pro Kabaddi League have decided to release some big names. Quite a few players who did not get too much game time last season have also been released. However, not all teams have let go of the players who warmed the benches last season.
In this listicle, we will look at the five names who did not get too many opportunities in PKL's last season but have been retained by their respective teams for Pro Kabaddi 2023.
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#1 Manuj Boora, Gujarat Giants
Gujarat Giants have released some big names like Baldev Singh, Rinku Narwal, and Sandeep Kandola from their squad. The Ahmedabad-based franchise have preferred to retain young right corner defender Manuj Boora over the seasoned pros.
Manuj played 10 matches for the Giants last season, where he earned 10 points. It will be interesting to see how the rising star performs this season.
#2 Ashish Narwal, Dabang Delhi KC
Former champions Dabang Delhi KC have used Naveen Kumar and Vijay Malik as their main raiders in recent seasons. They had Ashish Narwal in their squad for the last season, and he got seven games, where he managed 10 points.
Narwal has retained his place in the Dabang Delhi KC squad for Pro Kabaddi 2023. The Delhi-based franchise may want to give Ashish some more matches this season.
#3 Harsh, Haryana Steelers
The duo of Jaideep Dahiya and Mohit has been shouldering Haryana Steelers' defense in the Pro Kabaddi League. Both cover defenders have retained their place in the Haryana squad for Pro Kabaddi 2023.
Another cover defender who has been retained by Haryana for PKL 2023 is Harsh. The young left cover defender played five matches last season, earning five points.
#4 Devank, Jaipur Pink Panthers
Defending champions Jaipur Pink Panthers have retained a majority of their starting seven players from the last season. One notable absentee from the list of players retained by Jaipur is star raider, Rahul Chaudhari.
Instead, Jaipur have retained young raider Devank. In the previous edition of the Pro Kabaddi League, Devank turned up for the Pink Panthers in five matches, where he scored four points for the team.
#5 Thiyagarajan Yuvaraj, Patna Pirates
Patna Pirates have raised a lot of eyebrows by releasing their top-performing duo of Mohammadreza Chiyaneh and Rohit Gulia. While Chiyaneh was the best overseas defender in the previous Pro Kabaddi League season, Gulia attained the 10th spot in the Most Raid Points list.
Sachin Tanwar and Neeraj Kumar were Patna's two Elite Retained Players. The three-time champions have also retained youngster Thiyagarajan Yuvaraj, who earned five tackle points in three matches last season. Yuvaraj should receive more opportunities to play in Pro Kabaddi 2023.
