PKL 2019: 3 unsold players who could have made an impact this season
Pro Kabaddi 2019 is past its halfway stage and with only a few legs left before the business stage of the tournament, the 12 teams in the fray and giving their best shot at picking up crucial wins.
Although all the teams are still in with a chance to make it to the playoffs, a few teams will need to be at their best in the upcoming games to finish within the top 6 by the end of the league stage.
On the other hand, teams such as Dabang Delhi and Bengal Warriors have been phenomenal this season and are certain to enter the playoffs in the coming days.
In most cases, the performance of the teams throughout the season is reflective of the decisions taken by them during the auctions that are held a few months before the start of the tournament. Although this is not a criterion for teams to enjoy a successful season, the teams that have a good auction usually go on to do well in the tournament.
There were a few surprises in the season 7 auctions as a couple of talented players failed to find interest from the teams during the event. Going by the performances of some of the teams in this edition, these teams could have been helped by the presence of these unsold players in their roster.
On that note, here are three unsold players who could have helped a few struggling teams this season.
Note: Updated till Puneri Paltan vs Tamil Thalaivas, Match 96, 18th September 2019.
#3 Rohit Rana - Tamil Thalaivas
Ahead of this season of the Pro Kabaddi League, the Tamil Thalaivas had one of the best squads on paper comprising three experienced raiders and a proven defence which made this squad one of the clear favourites to lift the trophy.
However, few weeks into the tournament, the Thalaivas are languishing at the bottom half of the table and their chances of making it to the playoffs are looking bleak at the moment. Although the raiding department has been slightly inconsistent, it has been their defence that has let them down this season.
The trio of Manjeet Chhillar, Mohit Chhillar, and Ran Singh have failed to fire this edition which has made Tamil Thalaivas the team with the least number of tackle points collected so far. The team has also suffered from the lack of solid options at the left-cover and it is here that Rohit Rana could have filled the void for the team.
After two seasons of lacklustre performances, Rohit Rana finally came good in season six when he forged a productive partnership with youngster Surinder Singh in the U Mumba defence and picked up 38 tackle points in the process. Rana impressed with his accurate tackles and strong dashes, all of which proved to be instrumental in U Mumba's road to the playoffs.
It was a surprise that no team went for him in the auctions and had Tamil Thalaivas picked the player, they could have been benefited by his experience and ability to be consistent on the mat.