PKL 11: Which team is Siddharth Desai playing for in Pro Kabaddi 2024?

Dabang Delhi, the Season 8 champions, had acquired Siddharth Desai for INR 26 lakh at the 2024 auction, aiming to bolster their raiding department alongside Naveen Kumar and Ashu Malik.

With the PKL Season 11 underway, Siddharth Desai was expected to make a comeback after having a few quiet seasons. However, in a significant blow to Dabang Delhi, it was recently announced that Desai would not be participating in PKL 11 due to personal reasons.

Dabang Delhi took to social media platform X (formerly Twitter) to make the announcement days before the start of the league.

"𝐖𝐞 𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐬𝐚𝐝 𝐭𝐨 𝐚𝐧𝐧𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐜𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐁𝐚𝐡𝐮𝐛𝐚𝐥𝐢, 𝐒𝐢𝐝𝐝𝐡𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐡 𝐃𝐞𝐬𝐚𝐢, 𝐡𝐚𝐬 𝐛𝐞𝐞𝐧 𝐫𝐮𝐥𝐞𝐝 𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐨𝐟 𝐏𝐊𝐋 𝟏𝟏 𝐝𝐮𝐞 𝐭𝐨 𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐨𝐧𝐚𝐥 𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐬𝐨𝐧𝐬🚨 Wishing him all the best!💪#DabangDelhi #HarDumDabang," the tweet read.

Siddharth Desai, who has built a reputation as one of the most formidable raiders in PKL history, was expected to bring his experience and strength to the team. Known for his powerful physique and raiding skills, Desai has accumulated an impressive number of raid points over the years.

Despite recent challenges with form and injury, his addition to Dabang Delhi's squad came as a solid move, with the likes of Naveen and Ashu already present.

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Siddharth Desai’s PKL journey and record

Over the course of his PKL career, Siddharth Desai has played 80 matches, racking up an impressive 693 raid points, which places him 11th on the all-time list of most raid points in the league. His ability to earn raid points consistently has made him one of the top names in the sport, despite some recent struggles.

Siddharth Desai made a stellar debut in PKL Season 6 with U Mumba, where he became an instant sensation. In his debut season, he accumulated 218 raid points in 21 matches, boasting an average of 10.38 raid points per game. Following his breakout season, Desai moved to Telugu Titans in PKL Season 7, where he continued his strong performances, scoring 217 raid points in 22 matches at an average of 9.86.

However, Desai’s momentum was halted in PKL 8 when he missed the season after playing only three matches due to injury. Even in his short stint, he had impressive numbers, picking up 34 raid points, and averaging 11.33 raid points per match. PKL 9 saw him return to action, but his form had dipped, scoring 142 raid points in 17 matches at an average of 8.35.

In PKL 10, Desai represented the Haryana Steelers, where he failed to find his earlier rhythm, scoring just 82 raid points in 17 matches with an average of 4.82 raid points per game.

Siddharth Desai was expected to bounce back this season but will not be in action as mentioned earlier.