Pro Kabaddi League: 5 players who have disappointed with Jaipur Pink Panthers

The sixth edition of the Pro Kabaddi League is just a few weeks from now and the teams have been training earnestly for the task ahead. The auctions leading to the starting of the league sparked quite a few exciting moments as players shifted loyalty, some even moving to their second team for the first time in six seasons.

That's the case with Anup Kumar, who will be captaining the Jaipur Pink Panthers for the upcoming season and with that will play for the Panthers after five long years with U Mumba. Along with him walk in all-rounder Deepak Niwas Hooda and right corner defender Mohit Chhillar, who will be playing without his trusted defence partner Surender Nada for the first time in six seasons.

The Pink Panthers, who are the inaugural champions faded away in seasons two and three as they finished 5th and 6th while they made a comeback in the fourth season to finish runners-up. In the fifth season, they failed to make it to the playoffs and the sixth season will give them an opportunity to get in the title race.

For the Panthers, the team has boasted of players of high calibre such as Manjeet Chhilar, Jasvir Singh amongst others. However, there have been some players who have not managed to have the best of seasons with the Abhishek Bachchan-owned side.

Here are five players who disappointed with the Panthers:

#5 Siddharth

Siddharth (L) watches as Rahul Chaudhari raids

The burly all-rounder, who is better known for his vicious tackles from the defensive front did not have the best of stints with the Panthers when he represented them during the fifth season, where he finished with just 31 points from 21 matches.

Better known for his tackles than his raiding, Siddharth was a constant presence on the mat but could not bring in the confidence as he could only collect 4 raid points from 32 raids apart from 27 tackle points from 68 attempted tackles.

For season six, Siddharth will be representing Dabang Delhi which will be led by Joginder Narwal.

#4 Parvesh Bhainswal

Bhainswal (C) avoids a toe touch while in a chain with Shabeer Bapu

Left cover defender Parvesh Bhainswal's debut in the Pro Kabaddi League was with the Jaipur Pink Panthers in the fourth season but it was surely not one to remember as he was not at the top of his game right throughout the competition.

With just 3 points to show from seven matches, Parvesh's aggressive tackles and hasty moves did not help Jaipur's cause as he was often sent off to the benches. At the end of the season, Parvesh finished with a lowly 17.64% of successful tackles, underlining his poor run with the Panthers.

#3 Jawahar Dagar

Jawahar Dagar (in the background) represented Jaipur in Season 4

An all-rounder who started his Pro Kabaddi League career with the Jaipur Pink Panthers, Jawahar Dagar's debut season was not the greatest as he failed to find his feet and in the process could not accumulate points to his credit.

2 points from 6 matches certainly do not paint a pretty picture and what makes it worse is the fact that he could pick just 2 tackle points from 12 attempted tackles as he finished the season with 16.66% of successful tackles.

Dagar moved to the Patna Pirates for season five and will continue to represent them for season six as well.

#2 Rohit Rana

Rohit Rana (C) tries to guide the defenders

One of the league's most aggressive defenders, Rohit Rana's inaugural season with the Panthers was extremely successful as he finished with 38 points from 15 matches and with that also won the title.

However, since then, the 30-year old defender faded away with each passing season. In season 2, he could only muster up 17 points from 10 matches while in the third season, 18 points from 12 matches.

In the last season, Rana's woeful form saw him lose out on a constant place in the starting seven as he came on as a substitute more often, only to finish with 3 points from 5 matches.

#1 Gangadhari Mallesh

Gangadhari Mallesh seemed a better defender than a raider

A fine all-rounder who has excelled in the local circuit that rewarded him with a surprise entry into the Indian team, Gangadhari Mallesh has not put up the best of shows in the PKL with just 37 points from 30 matches across the first three seasons with the Panthers.

The 25-year old had a modest debut season where he finished with 16 points from 10 matches before he ran out of confidence in the second to collect just 11 points from 10 matches. In the third season, his defensive show outclassed his raiding but Mallesh just could not get going, picking up a meagre 10 points from 10 matches.

After a two-season hiatus and a stint with the Indian team, Mallesh is back with the Panthers for season six and it remains to see if he can put up a show.