Pro Kabaddi League 2018: 5 reasons why Telugu Titans can win the title
The Pro Kabaddi League season is just around the corner as, within a week's time, the action on the mat kicks off for the sixth edition of the league. Twelve franchises from all across the country will compete over the duration of three months with the first leg set to kick off in Chennai on October 7, 2018, at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium. The grand finale of the Pro Kabaddi Leauge will take place at the NSCI Dome in Mumbai, Maharashtra as the champions will be crowned on January 5, 2018.
Over the five seasons of the league, only three franchises - Jaipur Pink Panthers, U Mumba and Patna Pirates have been able to get their hands on the coveted Pro Kabaddi Leauge championship trophy. Patna Pirates are the defending champions and have won the title for three consecutive seasons establishing themselves as the most successful franchise in the league.
Telugu Titans are a franchise from the city of Hyderabad in Telangana who have been a stiff competitor in the league over the years. They have been in and out of the playoffs contention making the final stages two times in five seasons. Titans finished as the third position team back in Season 3 after they were second on the final league standings table.
Going into the upcoming sixth season of the Pro Kabaddi League, the Telugu Titans have assembled a well-balanced side and managed to retain a core from their squad last season. The biggest signing for the Telugu Titans was the retention of their star man Rahul Chaudhari for 1.29 Crores after using the Final Bid to Match card in the Pro Kabaddi League Season 6 auction. Other notable signings include the Iranian corner defender Abozar Mohajermighani and Farhad Milaghardan. The Titans had retained five players going into the auction thereby retaining most of their key players from last season.
We take a look at a few reasons why the Telugu Titans can go on to win the Pro Kabaddi League 2018 championship.
#5 Retention of crucial players ahead of the auction
Telugu Titans retained a total of five players - Nilesh Salunke, Mohsen Maghsoudloujafari, Vishal Bhardwaj, Rakshith, Sombir Gulia ahead of the Pro Kabaddi League 2018 auction earlier this year. This meant that they had decided to maintain the core squad from the last season with the all these players having impressed in Season 5 with their performances.
Nilesh Salunke, Mohsen Maghsoudloujafari and Rakshith are capable raiders who can support Rahul Chaudhari in the raiding unit. Sombir Guli and Vishal Bhardwaj were impressive last season in defence, specially Bhardwaj who had scored a massive 71 tackle points.