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The 7th season of Pro Kabaddi League is set to commence on July 18th and the teams have done their part by building up a strong team filled with the right players at the auction which was held on 8th and 9th of April in Mumbai. Siddharth Desai, the raiding sensation was the most expensive player as he was bought for ₹1.45 Crore by the Telugu Titans.
The raiders fetched more money but the defenders too saw some increase from what they previously got and this highlights the fact that teams are beginning to understand the importance of a strong defensive unit. Many teams have in fact, built their team around their defense and have had successful outings.
On that note, let's take a look at the defenders of the 12 teams and rank them.
#12 Haryana Steelers
Defending Options: Kuldeep Singh, Sunil, Dharmaraj Cheralathan, Vikas Kale, Parveen, Ravi Kumar, Vikram Kandola , Subhash Narwal
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The Haryana Steelers seem to be the weakest side this season with both their raiding and defensive units boasting of no big names. Their defense has a lot of options but they lack someone to effectively spearhead their unit. Dharmaraj Cheralathan can be a calm head who can organize their defense but he himself hasn't been performing in the league.
Kuldeep Singh, Ravi Kumar and Vikas Kale are expected to occupy the left corner and cover positions for the team. Both of them had average outings last season and this defense seems to have no bonding and has been assembled only at this auction.
Parveen and Vikram Kandola will be decent backup options but a lack of a consistent defender who can get 3-4 tackle points per game will hurt them.
#11 Bengal Warriors
Defending Options: Jeeva Kumar, Mohammad Nabibakhsh Dharmendra Singh, Viraj Vishnu Landge, Vijin Thangadurai,Sahil, Amit, Rinku Narwal, Baldev Singh, Adarsh T, Amir Santosh Dhumal, A.R. Avinash
The Bengal Warriors have a host of defensive options to play with but unfortunately, none of them except for Jeeva Kumar have too much experience and haven't done well in previous editions. Mohammad Nabibakhsh and Jeeva Kumar are expected to play in the cover positions while Rinku Narwal and Baldev Singh are expected to play in he corner positions.
The team has many backup options in players like Vijin Thangadurai, Adarsh T, Viraj Vishnu but none of them have done anything special in the league so far.
Bengal have an average-looking defense with plenty of options but with none of them looking really strong.
#10 UP Yoddha
Defending Options: Nitesh Kumar, Sachin Kumar, Amit, Narender, Mohsen Maghsoudlou, Aashish Nagar, Gurdeep, Arkam Shaikh
The U.P Yoddha have a brilliant raiding unit but their defense isn't too strong this season. This comes even after having the best defender last season, Nitesh Kumar. Apart from Nitesh who plays in the right corner, U.P don't have too much experience in their defense.
Sachin Kumar is expected to play in the left corner position while Amit and Narender, the defending all-rounders, are expected to play in the cover positions. Iranian Mohsen Maghsoudlou too can chip in with tackle points.
Despite having options in their defense, they lack the experience to make it big and with no calm head to steer them the right way, this young unit doesn't seem too intimidating.
#9 Patna Pirates
Defending Options: Surender Nada, Jaideep, Neeraj Kumar, Mahendra Choudhary, Jawahar, Bintu Narwal, Hadi Oshtorak, Ravinder, Vikas Jaglan
The Patna Pirates have always been a side that has revolved around their raiders and this season too, they have assembled a defense which is just good enough to support their raiders. Surender Nada, the ankle-hold specialist will play in the left corner and this will bolster their defense.
What has puzzled many is to why they bought back Jaideep, another successful left-corner when they have Nada. It might be due to the reason that they want a backup for Nada or that either of them can play in the left cover position.
Apart from these two, they bought young right corner Neeraj Kumar and all-rounder Hadi Oshtorak at the auction. Patna have a couple of utility defensing options in Vikas Jaglan and Ravinder Kumar.
Overall, Patna have a defense good enough for their team but when compared to the other teams, their defense seems to be rather weak.
#8 Bengaluru Bulls
Defending Options: Mahender Singh, Ashish Kumar Sangwan, Sandeep, Vijay Kumar, Raju Lal Choudhary, Aman, Mohit Sehrawat, Ajay, Ankit, Amit Sheoran, Sanjay Shrestha
The Bengaluru Bulls have a tremendous raiding unit and a decent defense to back it up this season. Their only big signing at the auction was the re-signing of talented left cover Mahender Singh who impressed for them last season. They have a lot of options for their defense but except for Ashish Kumar Sangwan, the corner defender and Mahender, their squad is very inexperienced.
Raju Lal Choudhary can play the right corner while Sandeep can play the left corner for the side. Otherwise, the rest of their players have little or no PKL experience and most of the defensive duties are expected to be performed by their main defenders.
Overall, the Bulls have a couple of good defenders who have to step up and do a good job in order to maintain the team balance.
#7 Jaipur Pink Panthers
Defending Options: Sandeep Dhull, Amit Hooda, Sunil Siddhgavali, Karamvir, Pavan T. R., Dong Gyu Kim, Vishal, Sachin Narwal, Nitin Rawal, Santhapanaselvam
The Jaipur Pink Panthers have got a good defensive unit for PKL season 7 and their corner combination can prove to be very effective this season. Sandeep Kumar Dhull did a brilliant job last season and was retained while the impressive right corner Amit Hooda was signed by them at the auction. Their cover defenders might prove to be a problem because apart from Sunil Siddhgavali, they don't have any good option in their side.
The only concern is that they have a lot of raiders who have to play and accommodating their defenders in the side will be a challenging task. Their cover combination hasn't been good in the past seasons and they must really click if they want their defense to be a formidable one.
Overall, Jaipur have a good defense which doesn't lack options but lacks solidity in the middle of their defense.
#4 Puneri Paltan
Defending Options: Girish Maruti Ernak, PO Surjeet Singh, Hadi Tajik, Satpal, Deepak Yadav, Jadhav Balasaheb Shahaji, Shubham Shinde, Sagar B. Krishna, Amit Kumar
Puneri Paltan have assembled a good defense for this season. They re-signed defensive talisman Girish Ernak before launching a huge bid for PO Surjeet Singh, probably the best cover defender in the league.
Their defense is expected to revolve around these 2 men and players like Shubham Shinde, Sagar B Krishna and Hadi Tajik will be the utility defenders in the side.
They, however lack strong options for both corner positions if Girish Ernak will play in the left cover position. Pune are a balanced side both in their raiding and defensive units and if both of them fire, they can have a good season.
#5 Tamil Thalaivas
Defending Options: Mohit Chhillar, Ran Singh, Manjeet Chhillar, Ajeet, Himanshu ,M. Abishek, Milad Sheibak, Ponparthiban Subramanian, Victor Onyango Obiero, Hemant Chauhan
The Tamil Thalaivas have built a really strong team for this team and though their raiding unit is much stronger, their defense is pretty good. They signed defending all-rounder Ran Singh who is a rock at the left corner while Mohit Chillar, another signing is one of the best right corners in the league. Manjeet Chillar too can play in either of the cover positions and the only problem they have is in finding the right player for the other cover position.
Though their main defenders are great players, they are ageing players and though they have experience, their form isn't what it used to be. They have decent backups in players like Ponparthiban and Hemant Chahuhan while all-rounders like Victor Onyango can chip in.
The Thalaivas have a good and experienced defense but it seems to be on the slightly older side.
#4 Dabang Delhi KC
Defending Options: Joginder Singh Narwal, Ravinder Pahal, Anil Kumar, Vishal Mane, Sombir, Satywan, Pratik Patil, Saeid Ghaffari. Meraj Sheykh
Dabang Delhi have a really strong team for PKL 7 and their defense has been built really well due to some smart buys at the auction. After retaining skipper and left corner Joginder Narwal, Delhi re-signed Ravinder Pahal and Vishal Mane to strengthen the right side of the defense.
Pahal and Mane will play at the right corner and right cover positions respectively making for a tough job for the left raiders. The left side of the defense is the main issue with Joginder Narwal proving to be reckless on many occasions. also, the left cover position is one which they haven't got the right man for and need to work on.
Anil Kumar, Satywan and Saeid Ghaffari will be options which the side will consider as backups. All-rounders like Meraj Sheykh and Vijay can also perform defensive duties for the side.
Overall, Delhi are a strong defensive side who need to curb their aggression a little bit.
#3 Telugu Titans
Defending Options: Vishal Bhardwaj, Abozar Mighani, Farhad Milaghardan, Krushna Madane, C. Arun, Manish, Akash Choudhary, Dewitt Jennings, Armaan
The Telugu Titans have a very good defensive line-up this season and their core from last season have been retained by the side. The team bought back left corner defender and skipper Vishal Bhardwaj as well as right corner defender Abozar Mighani using the FBM cards at the auction. They retained another Iranian Farhad Milaghardhan, the right cover defender and this line-up looks really good.
The Titans have a couple of young players who have performed for them, like Krushna Madane and Armaan and they provide decent cover for injuries. Their left and right corner defenders are probably the best in the entire league.
The Titans have a strong defense coupled with a strong lead raider and look to be a well balanced side this season.
#2 U Mumba
Defending Options: Fazel Atrachali, Sandeep Narwal, Surender Singh, Rajaguru Subramanian, Young Chang Ko, Harendra Kumar, Harsh Vardhan, Anil, Ajinkya Rohidas Kapre, Mohit Balyan
U Mumba have always been a defensive power house in the Pro Kabaddi League and this season too, they have built their primarily around their defense, which looks well set and strong. Fazel Atrachali is a rock at the left corner and is a hard man to get points off. They signed Sandeep Narwal, 'The Beast' and he will be a great partner to Fazel.
Young Surender Singh has been an intimidating presence in the right cover and will continue in the same position. Rajaguru Subramanian is another experienced cover defender who is expected to be in their plans. They have adequate backup in players like Young Chang Ko, Harendra Kumar, Anil and Mohit Balyan.
Overall, U Mumba are a very strong defensive side with enough backup and firepower for all positions.
#1 Gujarat Fortune Giants
Defending Options: Parvesh Bhainswal, Ruturaj Shivaji Koravi, Vinod Kumar, Amit, Sonu Gahlawat, Sunil Kumar, Mohammad Shazid Hossain, Pankaj
The Gujarat Fortune Giants finished as runners-up once again last season and their strong defense was a key reason for their success. Coach Manpreet Singh has made it pretty clear that his team will be built in the same vein and Gujarat's defense is the best in the entire league.
Skipper Sunil Kumar, the right cover was retained while Parvesh Bhainswal, the brilliant left cover was re-bought at the auction for a hefty sum. These two have formed a great cover combination which is the best in the entire league.
Ruturaj Koravi, the right corner defender was also bought back by the side, which chose to retain its core. The left corner position seems to be a bit of a puzzle but defensive all-rounder Vinod Kumar will be an option who they could consider.
Gujarat have a lot of backups for their players and this youthful defense has aldready achieved a lot and is the strongest, at least on paper this season.
