Five players to watch out for on Day 2 of Pro Kabaddi League Season 5 playoffs

Modified Oct 24, 2017 17:01 IST

Gujarat Fortunegiants' defence has been performing brilliantly throughout PKL 5

The focus shifts to the second day of the playoffs in PKL season 5. If the eliminators played on the first day were any indications to go by, then the fans are in for a treat. Table toppers in their respective zones, Gujarat Fortunegiants will take on the Bengal Warriors in Qualifier 1 where the winner goes into the finals while the loser will have another shot at qualifying as they get a chance to lock horns with the winner of Eliminator 3 where Puneri Paltan will face defending champions Patna Pirates. In this let us have a look at the top 5 players who have the quality to take their teams into the finals.

#5 Sunil Kumar (Gujarat Fortunegiants)

While all the eyes were glued to the Iranian pair of Fazal Atrachali and Abozar Mighani, the 20-year-old Sunil Kumar has quietly built a reputation of performing big in crunch situations. With 52 tackle points the former Patna Pirates' defender has been in splendid form throughout the season in his right cover position.

Alongside Parvesh Bhainswal he has provided the much needed support to both the corners and helped his team finish on top in their zone. Coach Manpreet Singh will be hoping that his protege slots in and delivers another match winning performances from right cover and take down the threat of Maninder Singh.

#4 Jang Kun Lee (Bengal Warriors)

When the season 5 kicked off a lot was expected from Jang Kun Lee as he was retained by his franchise but he has been fairly quiet throughout the campaign amassing just 88 points from the 19 games he's played. Bengal will be hoping that the Korean star brings his A-game to the mat and helps shoulder the responsibilities pinned on Maninder Singh.

#3 Surjeet Singh (Bengal Warriors)

Brilliant technique, match awareness and temperament is what makes Surjeet Singh undoubtedly the best cover defender in the game. A return of 73 tackle points in the ongoing campaign is not a small feat by any stretch of imagination and the Bengal skipper has been remarkable in guiding his team and defence particular throughout the season and if Bengal are to overcome the threat of Sukesh Hegde and Sachin Tanwar then they would look up to their captain once again, to get them over the line.

#2 Sandeep Narwal (Puneri Paltan)

The evolution of Sandeep Narwal from a back-up raider in the Patna Pirates setup in season 1 to a top all-rounder now has forced people to acknowledge and applaud the work ethic and skills of this Haryana lad.

The sight of the hugely built Sandeep at right corner is enough to send tremors in the opposition camp, his colossal blocks against the right raiders are one of the best sight. With a tally of 82 points under his belt in this season Pune fans will be hoping that their star player brings down his former teammate, the exceptional Pardeep Narwal and take the Paltans to Chennai for the qualifier.

#1 Pardeep Narwal (Patna Pirates)

Pardeep "Dubki King" Narwal#1 Pardeep Narwal (Patna Pirates)

After his exploits last night against one of the top defensive units in the league, Pardeep Narwal will be full of confidence and will be raring to go full steam against Puneri Paltan. He's been in red-hot form in this edition and with more than 300 points in his kitty Pardeep will be more than happy to add some more to his name.

He can destroy any defensive formation on his own as was evident against the Steelers and Puneri Paltan will be wary of this high-flying raider. Patna will be counting on him once again to lead the way in raiding as their defence has been below-par.

Edited by Soumo Ghosh