2016 Kabaddi World Cup: 5 Talking points from the India vs Iran final

#3 Meraj Sheykh played to perfection, his absence hurt the Iranians

Meraj Sheykh tries to get a point off a kick on India’s Sandeep Narwal

Be it raids, or playing a part in the defence, executing strategies to avoid leakage of bonus points for Anup Kumar or just staying on court and marshalling his troops, Meraj Sheykh was on point and played his role as skipper perfectly.

However, this was the case only in the first half, while the second half, he spent an increasing amount of time on the bench which resulted in a depleted Iranian team.

There was a lack of a guiding force in his absence, a lack of points off raids which resulted in a couple of All-out’s that rendered his team hapless and out of reach of the Indians, who went on to claim a 10 point lead at one stage.