Pro Kabaddi 2022: 1 player from each eliminated team who impressed the most
The first round of Pro Kabaddi 2022 culminated on Saturday evening with three very important matches. The Jaipur Pink Panthers and the Haryana Steelers missed out on a place in the playoffs despite being close to the qualification mark.
The two Pro Kabaddi teams joined U Mumba, Bengal Warriors, Tamil Thalaivas and Telugu Titans on the list of the teams eliminated before the PKL 2022 playoffs.
Quite a few players from these teams were exceptional but were unlucky to miss out on a place in the next round. On that note, we will look at one player from each eliminated team who impressed the most.
#1 Bengal Warriors - Maninder Singh
Bengal Warriors captain Maninder Singh continued his excellent form in Pro Kabaddi with 262 raid points from 22 matches. The tall raider had a fantastic raid strike rate of 65%, while his average was 11.91 raid points per match.
Singh scored 16 Super 10s and executed 11 super raids during the season. He proved himself as a multi-point raid specialist for the Kolkata-based franchise.
View the most raid points in PKL here.
#2 Haryana Steelers - Jaideep
Debutant Jaideep Dahiya was the most impressive cover defender among all eliminated teams. Playing in the left cover position, Jaideep scored 66 tackle points from 22 matches.
He outshone the likes of Surender Nada and Ravi Kumar in the defense by registering five High 5s and executing five super tackles for the Steelers.
#3 Jaipur Pink Panthers - Arjun Deshwal
Jaipur Pink Panthers raised quite a few eyebrows when they signed Arjun Deshwal as their most expensive player at the PKL 2021 Auction. Deshwal emerged as a lead raider for the Pink Panthers, scoring 267 raid points from 22 matches.
The former U Mumba star is only behind Pawan Sehrawat on the Most Raid Points list. He scored 16 Super 10s while representing the Jaipur-based franchise in Pro Kabaddi 2022.
#4 Tamil Thalaivas - Sagar
Sagar currently holds the top position on the Most Tackle Points list with 82 tackle points to his name. The Tamil Thalaivas right corner defender troubled the opposition raiders with his fine tackling skills.
He scored eight High 5s and executed eight super tackles during the season. Unfortunately, his team did not make it to the playoffs.
#5 Telugu Titans - Ankit Beniwal
Telugu Titans managed only one victory in the Pro Kabaddi 2022 league stage. Despite having the likes of Sandeep Kandola, Siddharth Desai, Surinder Singh and Rohit Kumar in the team, the Titans finished last.
Youngster Ankit Beniwal was the best player from the Titans squad, scoring 111 raid points from 21 matches, which included four Super 10s.
#6 U Mumba - Rinku HC
Debutant Rinku HC was excellent for U Mumba in his maiden Pro Kabaddi League season. The right corner defender scored more points than his captain Fazel Atrachali in U Mumba's defense.
Rinku is currently sixth on the Most Tackle Points list with 60 tackle points from 22 matches. He registered four High 5s and completed seven super tackles for his team.