Pro Kabaddi League 2018: 5 players who will shine for Haryana Steelers

The Pro Kabaddi League Season 6 is just around the corner as the thrilling action on the mat commences on the fifth of October to a grand start in the Southern state of Tamil Nadu. Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium in Chennai will play host to the first leg of the Pro Kabaddi League 2018 as a three-month-long carnival kicks off. The grand finale of the league will take place in Mumbai as the action wraps up on January 5, 2019.

Four teams had their debut in the Pro Kabaddi League last season and to much surprise, three of them managed to reach the playoffs stage. One of them was the JSW Group-owned Haryana Steelers franchise who had Sonipat in Haryana as their home base for the season.

The franchise made a huge splash in the Season 6 auction when they signed up former Patna Pirates raider Monu Goyat for a whopping price of 1.51 crores making him the most expensive buy in the history of the Pro Kabaddi League. They have retained most of their core squad from the last season by ensuring stalwarts Surender Nada, Wazir Singh and youngster Vikash Khandola are back into the roster for the upcoming season. They have added Kenyan all-rounder Patrick Nzau Muvai to their squad who could prove a surprise package for them through the season.

Here are five players who can prove to be crucial for the Haryana Steelers this season.

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#5 Sachin Shingade

Sachin Shingade has a wealth of experience in the Pro Kabaddi League

A left cover defender, Sachin Shingade has been a part of the Pro Kabaddi League for all the five seasons so far. He started out with the Telugu Titans where he played for two seasons and had a decent run in Hyderabad. He moved on to the Puneri Paltan and Dabang Delhi KC for the next two editions of the PKL. Last season, he was signed by Patna Pirates and formed a strong partnership with fellow defender Vishal Mane as they won the championship.

The signing of Shingade adds strength to the Haryana Steelers' defence which was a crucial part of their success last season.

#4 Vikas

Vikas was used off the bench last season by Haryana Steelers

Right corner defender Vikas was retained by the Haryana Steelers management ahead of the Pro Kabaddi League Season 6 auction. The Steelers lost their right corner stalwart Mohit Chillar to the Jaipur Pink Panthers and Vikas will be their go-to man for the position this season.

Vikas played off the bench last year and featured for the team in a total of nineteen matches as they made the playoffs. He managed to score a respectable 26 tackle points including a 4-point performance. Vikas will be tipped for a much higher tackle points tally this time around as he will have to partner up with the star defender Surender Nada.

#3 Wazir Singh

Wazir Singh was the highest scoring raider for Haryana Steelers last season

Wazir Singh has always been a crafty customer on the mat for all the franchises that he has turned out for in the Pro Kabaddi League. He is widely considered to be one of the most intelligent raiders in the Kabaddi circuit.

Over the five seasons of the Pro Kabaddi League, he has managed to garner a total of 298 points which include 276 raid points. He has scored 7 Super Raids and 9 Super 10s at a healthy 36.01% successful raid percentage. He was the highest scoring raider for the Steelers last season and will continue to lead the raiding unit as he has done over the years.

#4 Surender Nada

Surender Nada was the highest scoring defender in the Pro Kabaddi League last season

A man who needs no introduction, Surender Nada has been consistently one of the best performing corner defenders in the Pro Kabaddi League. His ankle holds from the left corner have gained legendary status in the league. He had formed a deadly corner duo with Mohit Chillar over the years and they terrorized raiders across the league.

This time around, Nada will not have Chillar alongside but the Steelers will bank on his leadership and experience to lead them to glory. He scored a massive 80 tackle points last season and will back himself to repeat his performance this year as well.

#1 Vikash Khandola

Vikash Khandola was one of the most impressive raiders from last season of the PKL

One of the finds of the Pro Kabaddi League Season 5, Vikash Khandola impressed everyone when he scored 58 raid points in just nine matches at the start of the season. This included 16 do-or-die raid points as he slowly took over the charge of raiding for the Steelers. However, his run was cut short when injury issues forced him to sit out a majority of the season.

Haryana Steelers have shown faith in Khandola and signed him for the sixth season by using the Final Bid Match card in the auction. Khandola will hope to repay their faith in him and finally perform to his potential in the upcoming season.