Pro Kabaddi 2019: 3 players Jaipur Pink Panthers may release before next season

The inaugural champions of Pro Kabaddi, Jaipur Pink Panthers had kicked off the season on a fantastic note as they had been a part of the top 4 of the standings for a long time. However, Deepak Niwas Hooda’s men lost their momentum as the season progressed and eventually, they did not qualify for the playoffs.

There were a lot of bright spots for the Jaipur-based franchise this year as their captain, Deepak Hooda was in supreme touch while both the corner defenders, Sandeep Dhull and Amit Hooda played their roles to perfection. Also, the team’s young all-rounder Vishal supported the team’s defence very well. However, the supporting raiders could not play with consistency and ultimately, this resulted in Jaipur Pink Panthers’ exit.

The Abhishek Bachchan-owned franchise will try to bounce back stronger in Season 8 of Pro Kabaddi and here are the 3 players that they may release from their squad:

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#3 Nitin Rawal

Nitin Rawal has not been able to repeat his Season 5 heroics

Matches - 16, Total Points Earned - 51, Average Points/Match - 3.19

The premier all-rounder of Jaipur Pink Panthers, Nitin Rawal had yet another forgettable season as despite the ample opportunities he received, the all-rounder finished the season with just 51 points.

He scored 32 raid points and 19 tackle points in Season 7, which are way lesser than his Season 5 numbers where he had aggregated 65 raid points and 20 tackle points. Rawal could not provide the support to Deepak Hooda in the raiding department and the fact that he scored zero Super 10s in Pro Kabaddi 2019 strengthens the aforementioned statement.

He took a High 5 in the defensive unit but given that he played 16 matches for Jaipur Pink Panthers, even that does not make a difference. It will not be a surprise if the team management releases Nitin Rawal soon.

#2 Ajinkya Pawar

Ajinkya Pawar let the fans down this year

Matches - 14, Raid Points - 19, Average Raid Points/Match - 1.35

Playing his second Pro Kabaddi season for the Jaipur Pink Panthers, Ajinkya Pawar failed to repeat his Season 6 performance. The raider had scored 71 raid points for the Jaipur-based franchise in Pro Kabaddi 2018. However, in PKL 2019, he could only manage 19 raid points at a below-par average of 1.35 raid points per match.

The raider attempted 66 raids this year but, only 28.88% of his raids proved to be successful. Jaipur Pink Panthers had retained him ahead of the 2019 auctions as they expected him to support Deepak Hooda just like the previous year.

Since Jaipur already have the likes of Deepak Hooda, Deepak Narwal, Lokesh Kaushik and Sushil Gulia in their raiding unit, they should look to end their association with Pawar and hunt for another upcoming star in the auction.

That said, Ajinkya Pawar might even get another chance to rectify his mistakes and prove himself after having been a Retained Young Player this season.

#1 Nilesh Salunke

Nilesh Salunke could have performed much, much better

Matches - 19, Raid Points - 68, Average Raid Points/Match - 3.57

Jaipur Pink Panthers had grabbed the headlines by signing the former Telugu Titans star, Nilesh Salunke in the Pro Kabaddi 2019 auction. The fans expected the raiding unit of Jaipur to light up this season since they had the trio of Deepak Hooda, Deepak Narwal and Nilesh Salunke in their team.

While Hooda and Narwal played well, Salunke could not support them much. He registered only a solitary Super 10 in the entire season and a majority of his 68 raid points came via bonus. He could not revive the other players as he never targeted touch points.

This is what created pressure on the rest of the team and there were a few occasions where Salunke's under-par performance cost Jaipur the match.

The teams expect their secondary raiders to have an average of at least 5 or more raid points per match. But, Salunke scored points at an average of 3.57 this year thus, he might find himself in the auction pool next year.