Asian Kabaddi Championships 2017: 4 players who did not deserve a spot in the Indian team

At the conclusion of the coaching camp in Sonepat ahead of the Asian Kabaddi Championships to be held in Iran from November 23rd-26th, the Amateur Kabaddi Federation of India announced the 14-man squad that will represent India at the tournament.

While the squad boasts of some fantastic players who will be raring to go at the back of excellent performances in the Pro Kabaddi League, the list has also sprung minuscule surprises with some players being picked even though they did not have the best of seasons.

Here is the list of players who have made the final cut but probably did not deserve it, owing purely to their performance in the fifth season of the Pro Kabaddi League.

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#4 Mahendra Singh Dhaka

Mahendra Singh Dhaka

Primarily a right cover, Mahendra Singh Dhaka's selection into the final 14 certainly raised some eyebrows with him hardly featuring in the PKL Season 5.

A veteran for Rajasthan, the defender impressed the Services coach which also landed him an Air Force job but in the PKL, Dhaka featured only in two matches for the Steelers, scoring zero points.

He travels to Iran as a backup option for Surjeet and looking at the past season of the PKL, there were plenty of other names who could have replaced him.

#3 Sachin

Sachin Tawar in action against Haryana

The youngster impressed with his maiden stint in the Pro Kabaddi League, as he fetched 159 points from 24 games but the real highlight of his selection in the Indian squad was that he was picked over the likes of Rishank Devadiga or Kashiling Adake, who are far more experienced than the youngster, who played for the Fortunegiants.

Although he finished in the top 10 bracket of the most number of raid points in the season, Sachin looked off-colour at crucial junctures but his flaws were sometimes camouflaged by the defence department.

While he will travel to Iran with the squad, he will have to sit on the benches for a long time with a lot of experience in the raiding department set to cause problems for the opposition.

#2 Mohit Chhillar

Mohit Chhillar (L) attempts a block on Fazel Athrachali

A rock-solid defender on the right corner position, Mohit Chhillar did not enjoy a great season as per his lofty standards as he managed to notch up just 39 tapoints from 20 games.

Having played alongside Surender Nada all his PKL career, Mohit failed to provide the needed support to Nada although the Steelers skipper led his team fabulously and finished as the best defender of the season.

Mohit, although he did have his moments of brilliance looked a pale shadow of his brilliant self as he went in for half-hearted tackles and appeared quite hesitant to go for the kill on many occasions.

While he certainly does not deserve a place at the back of his PKL performance, his experience and chemistry with Nada might have just earned him the place in the squad.

#1 Rahul Chaudhari

Rahul's inconsistency showed as the Titans could not make the playoffs

While most of you might be wondering why Rahul Chaudhari features in this list, some others who would have followed each of the Titans' game closely would realise that his inconsistency was a major let down that affected his team's campaign.

Although he was at his aggressive best at times and had his moments of absolute brilliance, the talismanic raider made raiding look tough against some good defenders and was sent to the bench quite often which did not help the Titans' cause.

On some occasions in an initial couple of games, Rahul did chase after personal records and succumbed to the pressure, putting his team into troubled waters. However, his experience came to the fore as he put in an improved performance in the later stages which did raise his game but was nowhere near his true potential.

With the likes of Pardeep Narwal, Ajay Thakur and Rohit Kumar in the squad, it remains to see how Rahul Chaudhari cements his place in the starting seven.