The fourth season of Star Sports Pro Kabaddi (PKL) reached its conclusion on Sunday night when the Patna Pirates romped home to a superb win over Jaipur Pink Panthers to defend their title in style. Last season’s defending champions were in cruise control right from day one and showed exactly why they were the best team in the tournament by thumping the Jaipur Pink Panthers.
PKL Season 4 saw some exceptional kabaddi being played and while a lot of stars came to the party. The competition witnessed the emergence of high-quality young players, who gave a glimpse of their kabaddi prowess through stellar performances. Though it was really tough to choose, here are the top five young players from Star Sports Pro Kabaddi League Season 4:
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[Please Note: Players above the age of 23 are not taken into consideration]
#5 Ajay Kumar (Jaipur Pink Panthers)
Anyone who saw the fourth season will tell you that Ajay Kumar’s name, from now on, will be synonymous with successful do or die raids. The 22-year-old raider, throughout the campaign, played second fiddle to maverick captain Jasvir Singh and did a marvellous job of it. He was also named the Rising Star of Season 4 after the tournament.
More often than not, Ajay Kumar was entrusted with the responsibility of going for the do or die raid and he did not disappoint. In his first season, Ajay Kumar scored 61 raid points and looks to be an excellent prospect for the future. Other than being extremely talented, Ajay Kumar possesses extraordinary confidence and never seems to take pressure. No wonder he got the Star Sports Rising Star of Season IV award.
#4 Amit Hooda (Jaipur Pink Panthers)
Irrespective of how your attack is in Pro Kabaddi, a good defence always takes you really far and no other team is a better example of that than runners-up Jaipur Pink Panthers, who had the dynamite defender Amit Hooda in their team. If you look at him and his game throughout the tournament, in which he effected 47 tackles, fathoming that he is 20 years of age would be nearly impossible unless you have access to his birth certificate.
Amit Hooda was one of the pillars of Jaipur’s defence, which kept the best raiders in the tournament at bay. Combining with Ran Singh, Hooda produced wonderful tackles one after the other. His aggression was not overt and quite controlled, thereby helped Jaipur Pink Panthers reach the final.
#3 Deepak Niwas Hooda (Puneri Paltan)
If you say that Puneri Paltan managed to reach the semi-finals of Pro Kabaddi 2016 Season 4 riding on the shoulders of Deepak Niwas Hooda, it would not be an exaggeration at all. Now, throw in a small fact that he is just 22 years of age and then put into perspective what Deepak managed to achieve in this season.
A big match player capable of delivering on the grandest stage, Deepak Niwas Hooda led the Puneri Paltan in the absence of Manjeet Chhillar, whose shoes can be huge to fill. His performance in the crunch game against Dabang Delhi that was do or die for the Puneri Paltan will not be forgotten. The youngster scored a colossal 17 points out of his team’s score of 39 to help them put one leg in the semi-final. The Pune raider ended the game with 126 raid points and he is right up there with the best in the competition’s history.
#2 Rahul Chaudhari (Telugu Titans)
There are two kinds of players in Pro Kabaddi - there is Rahul Chaudhari and then there is everyone else. Here are a few statistics to factually verify that statement. Rahul Chaudhari is just 23 years old and has already amassed 500+ points in four seasons. In Season 4, the Telugu Titans raider ended up scoring 146 raid points and took his team to the semi-finals. Not enough? Now take in the fact that he played the tournament with a serious injury to his right shoulder as well!
For such a young player, Rahul has continuously defied logic and did it yet again this season. Lack of support from other raiders and big stage fright probably did in Telugu Titans in the semi-final against Jaipur Pink Panthers, but you cannot take anything away from Rahul. Devastating in any conceivable manner, the Titans captain possesses the ability to drag his team through matches and he did that this season on several occasions, that too with a strapped shoulder.
#1 Pardeep Narwal (Patna Pirates)
Those who have managed to hear Pardeep Narwal talk and then watched him play kabaddi will tell you that he has multiple personalities. Off the mat, Narwal is a shy 19-year-old who barely speaks but the moment you tell him to raid in a kabaddi mat, he turns into this giant animal that just gobbles up the opposition. At the end of the tournament, Pardeep was rightly adjudged as the MVP of season 4.
His statistics of 131 raid points in season 4 are astonishing for anyone his age, but what is even more shocking is the composure Pardeep shows in crunch situations. Be it when his team is down to two or three men and he raids or when the opposition has a Super Tackle on, Pardeep Narwal delivers more often than not.
A testimony to this fact would be his performance in the final, where he scored 16 points to virtually assure that Patna Pirates defend their title and do it in style. If Pardeep is this good at 19, it is unimaginable what he will do at his peak.
