PKL Auction 2021: Best 7 from retained players list
PKL Auction 2021 is just a week away. Team managements of all 12 franchises took some big decisions this month after quite a few of them let go their star players.
Some of the biggest names released ahead of PKL Auction 2021 are: Pardeep Narwal, Deepak Niwas Hooda, Rahul Chaudhari, Ajay Thakur, Rishank Devadiga, Sachin Tanwar, Rohit Kumar, Siddharth Desai and Ravinder Pahal. All released players will go under the hammer at PKL Auction 2021, to be held from August 29 to 31. Some new players will also be part of PKL Auction 2021.
While most players are back in the auction pool, all the franchises have retained a few match-winners as well ahead of PKL Auction 2021. You can check out the full list here. In this article, we name our best playing VII from the players retained.
Left corner - Fazel Atrachali (U Mumba)
Iranian defender Fazel Atrachali will take up the left corner position in this team. Atrachali is one of the most successful defenders in Pro Kabaddi League history.
The U Mumba skipper has played 103 matches in his PKL career, scoring 321 points. Atrachali also has an impressive 21 High 5s to his name.
Left in - Pawan Sehrawat (Bengaluru Bulls)
Pawan Sehrawat is his team's first raider. The Bengaluru Bulls star has become one of the biggest match-winners in PKL history over the last two seasons. He made his PKL debut back in Season 3, but Pawan came into the limelight after scoring 282 points for the Bulls in Season 6.
Sehrawat played an integral role in Bengaluru's maiden PKL championship win in Season 6. He scored 346 raid points in Season 7, but the Bulls failed to defend their title.
Left cover - Parvesh Bhainswal (Gujarat Giants)
The Gujarat Giants are the only franchise with two players in our playing VII. The first is left cover Parvesh Bhainswal. Parvesh started his PKL journey with the Jaipur Pink Panthers in Season 4.
Gujarat signed him in Season 5, and he has been a part of the team ever since. In the last three seasons, Parvesh has scored 189 tackle points for Gujarat. He has 11 High 5s and 11 Super Tackles to his name.
Center - Maninder Singh (Bengal Warriors)
Defending champions Bengal Warriors' captain Maninder Singh will lead the raiding unit of this playing VII. Maninder has been unstoppable in the last three seasons, scoring 601 raid points for the Warriors.
Singh played a pivotal role in Bengal's championship win in Season 7. It will be exciting to see if he can help the club retain the title.
Right cover - Sunil Kumar (Gujarat Giants)
The second player in our team from the Gujarat Giants is right cover Sunil Kumar. Sunil has formed a lethal combination with Parvesh Bhainswal in the Gujarat Giants' defense over the last three seasons.
While Parvesh has registered 11 High 5s, his teammate Sunil has 10 High 5s in PKL. Having scored 179 tackle points, Kumar will aim to complete a double century of tackle points in Season 8.
Right in - Naveen Kumar (Dabang Delhi KC)
Naveen Kumar completes the raiding attack of this playing VII. Kumar was one of three raiders to have scored more than 300 raid points in the previous edition of the Pro Kabaddi League.
Unfortunately, Naveen's efforts were not enough to win Dabang Delhi KC the title. Naveen will hope to continue in the same vein in Season 8 and guide his team to the PKL trophy this time.
Right corner - Nitesh Kumar (UP Yoddha)
UP Yoddha skipper Nitesh Kumar holds the record for the most tackle points (100) in a single PKL season. Nitesh accomplished that feat in Season 6.
The right corner has aggregated 222 tackle points in just three seasons. UP Yoddha have retained him ahead of PKL Auction 2021. It will be interesting to see which players will join Nitesh in the squad.
Our team from players retained ahead of PKL Auction 2021
Fazel Atrachali (left corner), Pawan Sehrawat (left in), Parvesh Bhainswal (left cover), Maninder Singh (center), Sunil Kumar (right cover), Naveen Kumar (right in), Nitesh Kumar (right corner)