PKL season 5 winners - Where are they now?
PKL season five was the first edition of the Pro Kabaddi League to feature 12 teams. Four new franchises, namely Gujarat Giants, Haryana Steelers, UP Yoddhas and Tamil Thalaivas, were added to the league.
It was also the first edition of the league to follow a zone format for the first round. The 12 teams were divided into two zones of six each.
Patna Pirates emerged as PKL season five champions, which was their third consecutive title. Playing under Pardeep Narwal's captaincy, they finished second in the Zone B points table with 10 wins from 22 matches.
In the playoffs, Patna defeated Haryana Steelers and Bengal Warriors before registering a win over the Gujarat Giants to secure the championship. In this article, we will look at Patna Pirates' squad from PKL season five and where the players currently are.
Raiders - Pardeep Narwal, Monu Goyat, Vijay Malik, Vikas Jaglan, Mohammad Zakir Hossain, Vinod Kumar and Vishnu Uthaman
Pardeep Narwal led the team from the front by scoring 369 raid points in just 26 matches. The Patna Pirates captain was in the form of his life, and he received excellent support from Monu Goyat, who scored 191 raid points.
The next best raider for Patna in PKL season five was Vinod Kumar, who scored 34 raid points in 21 matches. The other raiders could not score big, but they supported the team whenever needed.
Narwal is currently the captain of UP Yoddhas in PKL, while Goyat remained unsold this season. Vijay Malik will reunite with Pardeep at the UP Yoddhas this term. Vijay earned 27 raid points and 37 tackle points that season for the Pirates.
Vikas Jaglan remained with the Patna Pirates for two more seasons. In season eight, he joined the Haryana Steelers. Mohammad Zakir Hossain and Vishnu Uthaman have not played in PKL after the fifth season, while Vinod Kumar represented the Bengal Warriors last season.
Defenders - Jaideep, Manish Kumar, Sachin Shingade, Sandeep, Satish Kumar, Virender Singh and Vishal Mane
Jaideep was the number-one defender for Patna Pirates in PKL season five. The corner defender finished third on the overall leaderboard with 71 tackle points to his name. Cover defender Vishal Mane supported him well by earning 39 tackle points in 26 matches. Manish Kumar and Sachin Shingade scored a total of 48 tackle points that season.
Jaideep was with the UP Yoddhas last season but he did not score any points, while Sachin hasn't played in the league since representing Haryana Steelers in 2018. Manish Kumar also played his last PKL season in 2018 for Patna.
Vishal Mane turned up for U Mumba last season, scoring one point in the only game that he played. Virender Singh and Satish Kumar have not earned a PKL deal after season five, and Sandeep's last PKL appearance came for Patna in season eight.
All Rounders - Arvind Kumar, Jawahar, Mohammad Maghsoudlou and Parveen Birwal
Jawahar was the top performer among the all-rounders for Patna Pirates in PKL season five. He scored 29 tackle points in 18 matches. The other all-rounders were not used much by the Pirates.
Jawahar played two more seasons for the Pirates, but he could not impress much, leading to his release. Arvind Kumar, Mohammad Maghsoudlou and Parveen Birwal have not played in the PKL after the fifth season.