Pro Kabaddi League 2017 Season 5: 5 teams who might regret their choice of captain later

The fifth edition of the Pro Kabaddi League is almost upon us and promises to be bigger and better than ever. It will feature a whopping 12 teams. after four new ones were added, who will contest nearly 140 matches spread across a period of three months.

Each team will turn over a new leaf for the new season, starting from scratch (well, almost) and building a completely new unit following a player auction conducted in May. How the teams will fare remains to be seen once the season gets underway but on paper, no team stands out in particular - which is only good news as we will get to see well-contested battles on the mat.

The role of a leader, like in many other sports, is crucial in kabaddi and it was only on Tuesday that the captains of all the 12 franchises were formally revealed and announced. While some picks such as Anup Kumar (U Mumba) and Ajay Thakur (Tamil Thalaivas) are obvious ones, there are definitely some that can raise a few eyebrows.

In this article, let's take a look at five captaincy picks that could later haunt the teams once the season reaches its business end!

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#1 Patna Pirates

We kick off the list with the double defending champions Patna Pirates, who have named star raider Pardeep Narwal as their man with the armband, which makes him the youngest captain in the PKL. While his abilities on the mat can never be doubted, the decision to give him the captaincy is questionable - given his tender age and relative inexperience.

The Pirates management's rationale behind picking the 20-year-old was the fact that he is the number one fan favourite and that he displayed excellent leadership qualities during the senior nationals. But the decision could backfire if the youngster is unable to balance the role of being the primary raider and team leader, especially given the fact that Patna do not have many game-changing raiders in their side.

A more understandable choice would have been defender Vishal Mane, who has much more experience than Narwal and will also spend more time on the mat, given his position as a cover defender. It remains to be seen how Narwal will fare and one hopes that the captain's role does not come in the way of the 'Dubki King's' raiding exploits.

Rahul Chaudhari

#2 Telugu Titans

The Titans will be led by the poster boy of Indian kabaddi Rahul Chaudhari for yet another new season. The raider, who is the highest point scorer in the league's four-season history, was retained by the Men in Yellow ahead of the player auctions and this time around, he will look to break his PKL duck and finally lay his hands on the coveted trophy.

However, there is a slight concern in handing Chaudhari the armband, given the availability of the legendary Rakesh Kumar in the same team. The all-rounder, who has led the Indian national team to a host of titles, is a natural leader and exudes an aura of composure - something perhaps that Chaudhari does not bring to the table.

Additionally, it has been observed in previous seasons that the star raider can underperform when entrusted with the captain's role, due to which the Titans had to switch the captain during the middle of the campaign. With the latest edition lasting three months, choosing Rahul over Rakesh might be something the team from Hyderabad end up regretting.

Sukesh Hegde

#3 Gujarat Fortune Giants

One of the four new teams in the Pro Kabaddi League, the side from Ahmedabad opted for the sound strategy of building an impenetrable defence at the player auctions and were able to rope in Iranians Fazel Atrachali and Abozar Mohajermighani to man the corners.

However, their raiding department is not as star-studded. Leading the attack as well as the team will be Sukesh Hegde, the former Telugu Titans raider who often played under the shadows of Rahul Chaudhari.

With no other top-class raider to bring home points in crunch situations, the responsibility of leading the team and being the sole attacking option can get a bit too much for the soft-spoken Hegde, for whom it will be the first time leading a PKL side. There will be additional pressure on him to perform, after a disappointing Season 4 where he didn't even hit double figures in the total points column, which again may be too much to handle for Hegde.

#4 Dabang Delhi

Dabang Delhi are the only side from the eight old teams to have never made it to the semifinals of a Pro Kabaddi season and a major factor for it has been the absence of a strong leader who can lead by example and keep his teammates composed as well.

This time, they will be led by Iranian star Meraj Sheykh, who also led the Eagles for the second half of Season 4, where he was often the lone warrior for his side during games. Despite his best efforts, he was unable to inspire his men to bring out their best and was often left watching helplessly as the players around him committed error after error.

In the player auction, the side from the national capital roped in defender and former Bengal Warriors captain Nilesh Shinde, who perhaps was a more obvious choice for the armband. Had the Maharashtra man been made captain, it would have allowed Sheykh to play with less pressure and take more risks, which would only help the team's cause. It remains to be seen whether the man from Iran can balance both duties together!

#5 UP Yoddha

The side from Lucknow hit the headlines after the first day of the player auction, splashing Rs 93 lakh on raider Nitin Tomar. The 22-year-old has also been named as the captain of the side ahead of their first Pro Kabaddi season and in the coming months, we will get to see whether he was the right pick or not.

Given his young age and the pressure of the Rs 93 lakh price tag that will stay with him throughout the season, it might have been a better choice to let some other player handle the captaincy.

A fine prospective candidate would have been veteran defender Jeeva Kumar, who has tonnes of experience under his belt and has won the PKL with U Mumba in Season 2. Rishank Devadiga and Rajesh Narwal are both decent options as well, but it will be fascinating to see how Tomar responds and whether he can bring his A-game out with the added weight of the armband.