PKL 2019: 3 unsold players who could have made an impact this season

Pro Kabaddi 2019 is past its halfway stage and with only a few legs left before the business stage of the tournament, the 12 teams in the fray and giving their best shot at picking up crucial wins.

Although all the teams are still in with a chance to make it to the playoffs, a few teams will need to be at their best in the upcoming games to finish within the top 6 by the end of the league stage.

On the other hand, teams such as Dabang Delhi and Bengal Warriors have been phenomenal this season and are certain to enter the playoffs in the coming days.

In most cases, the performance of the teams throughout the season is reflective of the decisions taken by them during the auctions that are held a few months before the start of the tournament. Although this is not a criterion for teams to enjoy a successful season, the teams that have a good auction usually go on to do well in the tournament.

There were a few surprises in the season 7 auctions as a couple of talented players failed to find interest from the teams during the event. Going by the performances of some of the teams in this edition, these teams could have been helped by the presence of these unsold players in their roster.

On that note, here are three unsold players who could have helped a few struggling teams this season.

Note: Updated till Puneri Paltan vs Tamil Thalaivas, Match 96, 18th September 2019.

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#3 Rohit Rana - Tamil Thalaivas

Rohit Rana could have strengthened the defence of Tamil Thalaivas

Ahead of this season of the Pro Kabaddi League, the Tamil Thalaivas had one of the best squads on paper comprising three experienced raiders and a proven defence which made this squad one of the clear favourites to lift the trophy.

However, few weeks into the tournament, the Thalaivas are languishing at the bottom half of the table and their chances of making it to the playoffs are looking bleak at the moment. Although the raiding department has been slightly inconsistent, it has been their defence that has let them down this season.

The trio of Manjeet Chhillar, Mohit Chhillar, and Ran Singh have failed to fire this edition which has made Tamil Thalaivas the team with the least number of tackle points collected so far. The team has also suffered from the lack of solid options at the left-cover and it is here that Rohit Rana could have filled the void for the team.

After two seasons of lacklustre performances, Rohit Rana finally came good in season six when he forged a productive partnership with youngster Surinder Singh in the U Mumba defence and picked up 38 tackle points in the process. Rana impressed with his accurate tackles and strong dashes, all of which proved to be instrumental in U Mumba's road to the playoffs.

It was a surprise that no team went for him in the auctions and had Tamil Thalaivas picked the player, they could have been benefited by his experience and ability to be consistent on the mat.

#2 Mahendra Ganesh Rajput - Telugu Titans

The lanky raider might have been useful in Titans' raiding department

With 243 raid points from 15 games so far, the Telugu Titans have collected the least raid points this season; something that they could have avoided with a better strategy at the season 7 auctions. The team chose to invest big on Siddharth Desai, the costliest buy of this season, who has contributed 125 raid points to his team and has failed to be consistent on the mat.

The likes of Suraj Desai and Rajnish have all failed to establish themselves in the team and have thereby highlighted the team's lack of a solid second-raider this season.

Mahendra Ganesh Rajput was one of the most reliable raiders for Gujarat Fortune Giants in the previous two seasons of the tournament. He particularly produced impactful performances from the bench and won games for his side from unlikely situations on many occasions.

While he collected 30 points from 13 games in season six, Mahendra Rajput's best season in the history of the tournament came in season five when he picked up 62 points from 17 games.

Having been a part of each of the seasons of PKL prior to this edition, Rajput could have offered experience, an aspect that not even Telugu Titans' best raider Siddharth Desai can boast of. With his extended reach which torments most of the defenders, Rajput could have added an edge to the raiding department of the squad for this season.

Of the many players that went unsold in the auctions, Mahendra Rajput would have been the most useful for the Telugu Titans.

#1 Kashiling Adake - Patna Pirates

Kashiling Adake would have been the perfect deputy for Pardeep Narwal

Kashiling Adake was the perfect third-raider for the Bengaluru Bulls last season. In a season where the majority of the raiding opportunities went to Rohit Kumar and Pawan Sehrawat, Kashiling picked up 84 points from 20 games in the last edition.

Kashiling Adake himself is a legendary figure in the tournament, having crossed the 100-point mark thrice in the history of the league. His experience and versatility on the mat would have been attributes which many teams could have been helped by, but none more than the Patna Pirates.

Pardeep Narwal has failed to get adequate support from the raiding department in this edition, a problem that he faced last season too. Of the 285 raid points that the team has scored so far, Pardeep has collected 190 points and none of the other raiders have even managed to cross the 50-point mark thus far.

With Kashiling Adake in the squad, this could have changed, as he proved last season despite being the third-raider for his team. He would have stepped up in difficult situations and had his impact as a leader with his matured raids and calculated risks on the mat.

Although Patna Pirates are slowly on the rise, the presence of Kashiling could have had them in a better position in the tournament as of now.