PKL 2019: One player each eliminated team may release before next season

The league stage of Pro Kabaddi League 2019 is over as the tournament will now enter its playoffs stage. The organizers had tweaked the format of the tournament for this season as they decided to have a single pool of 12 teams instead of dividing them into two zones.

Dabang Delhi K.C., Bengal Warriors, U Mumba, Haryana Steelers, U.P. Yoddha and Bengaluru Bulls have emerged as the top six teams of the season and one of these franchises will take the coveted PKL trophy home on 19th October.

However, the journey of Jaipur Pink Panthers, Patna Pirates, Gujarat Fortune Giants, Puneri Paltan, Telugu Titans and Tamil Thalaivas has come to an abrupt end as the players of these teams could not take them to the next round.

Despite assembling a strong squad, the aforementioned teams did not make it big in the seventh season of the Pro Kabaddi League. However, the team management of these units will now look forward to the next season and they would like to release a few under-performers.

Here’s a list showcasing one player each eliminated team may release before the next PKL season:

#6 Sunil Siddhgavali - Jaipur Pink Panthers

Matches - 14, Tackle Points - 9, Average Tackle Points/Match - 0.64

The Jaipur Pink Panthers bought cover defender Sunil Siddhgavali in the auction for a price of ₹20 lakhs. However, the defender could not live up to expectations and emerged as one of the weak links of the team.

Though the Season 1 champions had the trio of Deepak Hooda, Deepak Narwal and Nilesh Salunke in the raiding attack along with Amit Hooda and Sandeep Dhull at the corner positions, they could not make it to the playoffs.

The key reason behind this was the poor performance of the cover defenders. While Vishal impressed with his tackles, the other cover, Siddhgavali played 14 matches this season but could score only 9 tackle points, and had a tackle strike-rate of just 20 percent. As such, Jaipur might look to release him before PKL 2020.

#5 Mohammad Maghsoudlou - Patna Pirates

The Iranian raider lost his form after an impressive debut

Matches - 20, Raid Points - 39, Average Raid Points/Match - 1.95

When the Iranian raider, Mohammad Maghsoudlou appeared for the first time in PKL 2019, it seemed like Patna Pirates had found an apt support raider for Pardeep Narwal. However, the performances of Maghsoudlou went downhill since then as the opposition defenders got the better of his monotonous technique in the succeeding matches.

He finished the season with just 39 raid points in 20 matches with a below-par average of 1.95 raid points per game. He scored 6 raid points on the opening night of the tournament against Bengaluru Bulls.

In the next game, he could take only one bonus point against Telugu Titans while he did not score even a single point during Patna Pirates’ home leg. His failures ensured that Patna win only one match at the Patliputra Sports Complex.

The team owners had invested ₹35 lakhs to buy the services of the Iran-born raider but after looking at his failures, the team would look to release him and continue their search for a suitable secondary raider in the PKL 2020 auction.

#4 Ruturaj Koravi - Gujarat Fortune Giants

Ruturaj Koravi could not repeat his performances of Season 6

Matches - 17, Tackle Points - 17, Average Tackle Points/Match - 1

The only reason Gujarat Fortune Giants crashed out of the tournament in the league stage itself was the failure of their corners. Manpreet Singh used the duo of Ankit and Sumit in the corner positions at the start of the season, however, neither of the youngsters could make an impact in the defensive unit. This led to Gujarat Fortune Giants’ defeat in all their home matches this season.

This left Manpreet Singh with no other option but to replace the corner defenders. He brought Ruturaj Koravi and Pankaj in the squad. While Pankaj played well in the defence, his partner Koravi could not do so.

In the 17 games that the defender played, he could score only 17 tackle points at a low average of 1 tackle point/match. This average was much lower than his Season 6 performance where he had an average of 1.91 tackle points/match.

Also, his tackle strike rate decreased from 38.84% to 29.82% this year. Given that the Ahmedabad-based franchise had bought him for ₹30.5 lakhs in the auction, the team management might end his contract before next season.

#3 Girish Maruti Ernak - Puneri Paltan

Matches - 17, Tackle Points - 34, Average Tackle Points/Match - 2

Puneri Paltan had repurchased the services of the veteran defender, Girish Maruti Ernak for a hefty amount of ₹33 lakhs in the auction. While Ernak is still one of the best defenders in the business, he could not contribute his bit to the defence of his team this year. Hence, Puneri Paltan may look to release him and buy him back at a lower price in next season’s auction.

The Pune-based franchise had a defensive unit comprising Surjeet Singh, Hadi Tajik, Sanket Sawant and Girish Ernak. But as Ernak struggled to play well, coach Anup Kumar had to bring in the likes of Balasaheb Jadhav and Sagar Krishna. Both of the defenders performed their best but could not fill in the big shoes of Ernak which cost Puneri Paltan a few matches.

Also, Girish Ernak could score one High 5 in this season. He took part in 17 games where he amassed 34 tackle points at a decent average of 2 tackle points/match. These are good numbers but when you look at the past performances of the star defender, then you know it would be a wise decision to let him go into the auction pool once again.

#2 C. Arun - Telugu Titans

Matches - 22, Tackle Points - 25, Average Tackle Points/Match - 1.14

Another experienced player who disappointed the fans this season was Telugu Titans’ cover defender, C. Arun. Despite having the experience of playing in the past seasons of Pro Kabaddi League, Arun could not make an impact in Telugu Titans’ defence. He took only a solitary High 5 during the entire league stage.

His average of 1.14 tackle points/match shows how easily the raiders got the better of him this season. Also, his unsuccessful tackles were more than the successful ones in this edition of the Pro Kabaddi League.

One of the major reasons why Telugu Titans could not register a single win at their home this season was Arun’s poor form. He featured in all the 4 games for the home side but could only take 2 tackle points while committing 8 unsuccessful tackles in 4 matches.

Telugu Titans would look to release C. Arun before next season because they have a plethora of young talent in the defensive unit. Besides, they can always buy a new defender to fill in the gap of C. Arun.

#1 Manjeet Chhillar - Tamil Thalaivas

Manjeet Chhillar even captained the Tamil Thalaivas in a few matches

Matches - 15, Total Points - 41, Average Raid Points/Match - 0.26, Average Tackle Points/Match - 2.33

One of the premier all-rounders of the Pro Kabaddi League, Manjeet Chhillar was a part of the star-studded Tamil Thalaivas squad this season. Despite having the support of Ajay Thakur, Rahul Chaudhari, Shabeer Bappu, Ran Singh and Mohit Chhillar, he could not inspire the Tamil Thalaivas to the playoffs. On the contrary, the team finished their campaign at the last position with just 4 wins in 22 matches.

Chhillar showcased his brute power in the first few games of the season, however, his form fizzled out as the season progressed. He registered 2 High 5s in the first part of the tournament but he suffered an unfortunate injury right before the home leg of Tamil Thalaivas.

This injury kept him out of some matches and when he returned, the entire team had already lost its momentum by then. Even Chhillar could not repeat his past performances as he committed a lot of unsuccessful tackles.

After the Tamil Thalaivas were eliminated from the tournament, the team management gave the young players a chance by resting the stars. Hence, this could be a sign of what they have in their minds and the Chennai-based franchise may release Chhillar before next season.

Edited by Sudeshna Banerjee