Naveen Kumar's captaincy debut, Pawan Sehrawat's 'god-like' status & more- 12 big questions ahead of Pro Kabaddi 2022
After what seemed like a never-ending wait of 1082 days, the Pro Kabaddi League will finally open its doors to the thousands of fans who are expected to decorate the Sree Kanteerva Indoor Stadium in Bengaluru with their colourful jerseys and face paint on PKL 9's opening day.
While six teams will commence their campaign in what's expected to be a cauldron of noise in Bengaluru, the rest of the six squads will also compete in their opening clashes tomorrow, promising high-octane Pro Kabaddi 2022 action over the course of the next two days.
The PKL 9 season comes with a fair share of curiosity though, with many players shifting loyalties and donning different jerseys as compared to PKL 8. The Bengaluru faithful (#BullsSene) will need to replace their screams of "PAWAN, PAWAN" with "VIKASH, VIKASH", courtesy of Pawan Sehrawat moving to Tamil Thalaivas, and the Bulls splurging ₹1.70 Crore to sign Vikash Kandola as his replacement.
'Poster Boy' Rahul Chaudhari will be a Panther for Pro Kabaddi 2022 in his first season with Jaipur, but there is some normalcy to the narrative as well. Naveen Kumar will be the focal point at Dabang Delhi, while Pardeep Narwal is expected to fare a lot better for UP Yoddha given that he's now fully fit and raring to go.
Also read - Pro Kabaddi 2022 Schedule PDF Download: Full PKL schedule, dates and match timings
The Telugu Titans have not only roped in the who's who of Pro Kabaddi's defenders, they've also got veteran PKL star Manjeet Chhillar in a new avatar - as assistant coach.
Oh, and for those waiting to see the Iranians like Fazel Atrachali, Mohammad Nabibakhsh, Mohammadreza Chiyaneh in action, well.... you'll have to wait longer. The Iranians have all flown back after visa issues have put a premature end to their stay in India, and there's no date rubber stamped for their return.
And so there are plenty of questions, combinations and talking points that will potentially outline the first week of Pro Kabaddi 2022 action. Here, we take a look at one main question that could define each team - so let's dive in?
Note: Teams have been picked in alphabetical order by their names, making it easy for you to pick your favourite team! Sound off your thoughts in the comments section!
#1 Which version of Deepak Hooda will we see at the Bengal Warriors?
It's not really wrong at this point to say that Deepak Hooda, the Indian Kabaddi national team captain, is going through a tough time in his PKL career. A big, strong man capable of troubling the best of defenders, Hooda is captured in one's imagination as one of PKL's best players - but the stats seem to say otherwise.
And so do the prices he goes for at the auction. Hooda was retained by Jaipur using their FBM card for just ₹55 lakh in the PKL 2021 auction, and that number fell to an even lower ₹43 lakh in August this year.
Money might not be the be-all or end-all, but it does speak volumes about how PKL teams rate Hooda. By his own admission, Hooda has always been fit and there's never been an issue with his game, but something is going wrong.
With a new dawn at the Warriors, we could well witness a spring in his step and the famous hand touches, ankle holds that the all-rounder is known for. However, if he indeed fails to perform yet again - Hooda could be walking into the evening of his career.
#2 Can Vikash Kandola take over Pawan Sehrawat's spot in the Bengaluru Bulls fans' hearts?
As spoken about before and a topic that will remain for long, Pawan Sehrawat at the Bengaluru Bulls was more than just a player, he was an emotion for the fans. For three seasons, including a title-winning, MVP-winning performance in PKL 6, Sehrawat was the apple of the eye - at least for the Bulls fans.
For PKL 9 though, Pawan has moved on to the Thalaivas after they broke the bank and signed him for a record ₹2.26 Cr. While the Bulls vs Thalaivas rivalry isn't as intense as the very famous RCB vs CSK contests, Pawan at Bengaluru is a story that's met its end.
There's a new superstar in town, and while the Bulls' fans might take time to accept Vikash Kandola with open arms, there's still a big question mark over the influence he can have on every match.
In the sample size of the last three PKL seasons, Sehrawat has topped the raid points charts every time, a hat-trick to his name. Kandola, in comparison, has finished 9th (PKL 6), 6th (PKL 7) and 8th (PKL 8) in the same table.
Purely in numbers, Sehrawat (921 raid points in 72 matches) is miles ahead of Kandola (536 raid points in 64 matches). Bulls coach Randhir Sehrawat, though, has promised that Kandola will have "a season like never before" - but will it be big enough to fill the enormous void left behind by the 'Hi-Flyer'?
#3 Will captain Naveen 'Express' seamlessly slot into his role as the engineroom of Dabang Delhi?
Most people generally cringe when folks use the age-old phrase "there's no words to describe this" - but there's not another truer statement that applies to the Pro Kabaddi marvel that is Naveen Kumar. Since his PKL debut in season 6, Naveen's only improved with time, winning back-to-back MVP (Most valuable player) awards in PKL 7 and then PKL 8.
Particularly in PKL 8, in which he braved a bad knee injury to lead Dabang Delhi K.C. to their first title, all of which is testament to the talent that Naveen brings to the table.
However, for all three seasons, he's only had to focus on raiding and leaving defenders flummoxed. In PKL 9, there's a new challenge - one that involves captaining Delhi. There's always the added pressure of captaincy, with more sets of eyes on the player than before.
Thus far, Naveen has averaged 10.97 raid points per match, a terrific achievement as per PKL standards and one that Delhi have always leaned on for wins. Now, as captain, how that figure either goes up or falls down is the biggest question.
#4 Does Gujarat Giants captain Chandran Ranjit have it in him to step up his game beyond just a secondary raider?
For starters, did any of us expect Gujarat Giants to name Ranjit as captain? The direct answer would be NO - probably a rare few had him penciled down as skipper in their books.
Other suitors included Rinku Narwal/Baldev Singh, maybe even Sandeep Kandola, but that's not to take anything away from Ranjit, who is a very talented raider in his own right and can change matches with his astute skills.
The only reason why this question came up is because in his prime from 2018 on, he's played under the shadow of superior raiders. Naveen Kumar in Delhi and Pawan Sehrawat in Bengaluru.
Ranjit averages a touch under 5 raid points a match (4.92 to be precise), and the captaincy is now a huge responsibility on him. Unless... well, they have PKL's most successful coach in Ram Mehar Singh - who might just take all the calls from the bench. If the captaincy brings the best out of Ranjit, then nothing like it. But for a rather shy character who is happy to be inside his own comfort circle, captaincy could be quite a tall order.