PKL 2019: Top 5 all-rounders to watch out for
A brand new edition of the Pro Kabaddi League is all set to kick off from the 20th of July at the Gachibowli Indoor Stadium in Hyderabad, with the hosts Telugu Titans set to take on U Mumba in the opening fixture.
Pro Kabaddi 2019 will see a double-robin round format with no zonal or interzonal matches in this edition. Twelve teams will compete against each other in the three-month long format, with the final to be played out in October.
The season 7 auctions took place on the 8th and 9th of April as the 'best debutant' from PKL 6, Siddharth Sirish Desai, became the costliest player after the Telugu Titans shelled out a massive amount of ₹145 lakh for his services.
On the other hand, Rahul Chaudhari, who had represented the Titans ever since the inception of the league was roped in by the Tamil Thalaivas for ₹94 lakh.
On the all-rounders front, Mohammad Esmaeil Nabibaksh became the costliest foreign player after Bengal Warriors sealed his services for ₹77.75 lakh while Sandeep Narwal was signed up by U Mumba for ₹89 lakh.
Now that PKL 2019 is barely a few days away, let us have a look at the top five all-rounders to watch out for in the much anticipated season:
#5. Sandeep Narwal - U Mumba
Sandeep Narwal has been a part of the Pro Kabaddi League since the inaugural season, when he turned out for the Patna Pirates. A man who wears his heart on his sleeve, Sandeep is one among the most distinguished names such as Ajay Thakur, Manjeet Chillar, Anup Kumar and Rakesh Kumar.
He was made the captain of the Patna Pirates in the second season, despite his little experience and yet, he made the most of his opportunity. Till date, Sandeep has 483 points in 101 matches. Sandeep's game ability to turn the game around, with either his raiding or defending has won a lot of praise over the years.
Narwal had a massive role in leading Pirates to the season 3 trophy and has also had a massive impact while playing for the Telugu Titans and Puneri Paltan. With 66 points to show from 18 matches, Sandeep had a good showing with the Paltan but was released from the squad.
For the upcoming season, Sandeep will be seen partnering with Fazel Atrachali in the corner position. With U Mumba slightly weak in terms of the raiding unit, Sandeep could be expected to put on an all-round show.