Pro Kabaddi 2021: Ranking all teams by foreigners in their squad
Pro Kabaddi 2021 will start on December 22 with a triple-header. Former champions Bengaluru Bulls and U Mumba will be in action in the first match of the tournament, while the second match will feature a battle between the Tamil Thalaivas and Telugu Titans.
The day will end with a game between defending champions Bengal Warriors and Pardeep Narwal's UP Yoddha.
PKL will resume after a two-year break, much to the delight of kabaddi fans. This year, the organizers have made it mandatory for all 12 PKL teams to sign at least two overseas players each.
24 foreign players are thus set to participate in Pro Kabaddi 2021. In this listicle, we will rank the teams as per their overseas department's strength.
#12 Tamil Thalaivas - Anwar Saeed, Sandaruwan Asiri
Tamil Thalaivas have two Sri Lankan players in their Pro Kabaddi 2021 squad, namely all-rounder Anwar Saheed Baba and raider Sandaruwan Asiri. The franchise initially signed Bangladesh's Mohammad Tuhin Tarafder along with Baba but later replaced him with Asiri.
Neither Baba nor Asiri have played in the PKL before. It seems unlikely the Thalaivas will use them much in Pro Kabaddi 2021.
#11 Telugu Titans - Hyunsu Park and Tetsuro Abe
Korean raider Hyunsu Park and Japanese defender Tetsuro Abe are the two overseas players of Telugu Titans. Like Tamil Thalaivas, Telugu Titans are unlikely to rely on their foreigners much.
Abe and Park will likely get opportunities to play as substitute players only in Pro Kabaddi 2021.
#10 Jaipur Pink Panthers - Amirhossein Maleki, Amin Nosrati
Jaipur Pink Panthers signed two Iranian raiders - Amin Nosrati and Amirhossein Maleki ahead of the Pro Kabaddi 2021 season. None of the two raiders have the experience of playing in the PKL.
Maleki was with the Haryana Steelers for the seventh season, but he did not get a chance to showcase his skills.
#9 UP Yoddha - James Kamweti and Mohammad Taghi
Kenyan raider James Kamweti and Iranian raider Mohammad Taghi Paein Mahali are the foreigners present in the UP Yoddha squad. They will be keen to have practice sessions with Pardeep Narwal.
While Kamweti is likely to warm the benches, Taghi may play a few games for UP Yoddha because he won PKL 7 with the Bengal Warriors.