Pro Kabaddi 2022: Best playing 7 from eliminated teams
The first round of the Pro Kabaddi 2022 ended last Saturday with a Triple Panga in Bengaluru. After the three games on Saturday, Jaipur Pink Panthers and Haryana Steelers joined U Mumba, Tamil Thalaivas, Telugu Titans and Bengal Warriors on the list of teams eliminated before the playoffs.
The Pink Panthers and the Steelers were very close to qualifying, but losses in their last league games ended their chances of qualification. While Jaipur lost to Puneri Paltan in a virtual knockout, the Steelers crashed out after losing to table-toppers Patna Pirates.
On that note, here's a look at a hypothetical playing 7 comprising players from the six eliminated Pro Kabaddi teams before the 2022 playoffs.
Centre - Arjun Deshwal
Arjun Deshwal finished second on the Raid Points leaderboard in Pro Kabaddi 2022. He was the most expensive signing made by the Jaipur Pink Panthers at the PKL 2021 Auction, and the youngster justified his price tag.
Deshwal played in all 22 games for the Panthers, scoring 267 raid points at an enviable average of 12.14 raid points per outing.
Right Cover - Surjeet Singh
Surjeet Singh led the Tamil Thalaivas from the front in the first phase of the Pro Kabaddi 2022 season. It seemed like the former Puneri Paltan star would take the Thalaivas to the playoffs for the first time in PKL history.
However, Singh lost his form in the final phase of the tournament, and that ultimately led to the Chennai-based franchise's exit. Singh scored 53 tackle points in 20 games for the Thalaivas.
Check out the PKL stats here.
Left Cover - Jaideep
Jaideep was one of the finds of the Pro Kabaddi 2022 season. The left cover defender performed brilliantly for the Haryana Steelers. His combination with Mohit played a key role in Haryana's success.
At the moment, Jaideep is third on the tackle points leaderboard, with 66 from 22 games.
Right In - Maninder Singh
Bengal Warriors captain Maninder Singh wowed everyone with his supreme consistency in Pro Kabaddi 2022. However, Singh did not receive enough support from his teammates, leading to Bengal's early exit from the competition.
Nevertheless, Singh finished in the top 3 of the raid points leaderboard with 262 from 22 games.
Left In - Abhishek Singh
Abhishek Singh was the most successful raider for U Mumba in Pro Kabaddi 2022. The vice-captain shouldered the raiding responsibilities for his team by scoring 177 raid points in 22 games.
Singh received decent support from V Ajith Kumar, but U Mumba lacked a quality third raider who could back up the duo.
Right Corner - Sagar Rathee
Sagar Rathee was the number one defender in the league stage of Pro Kabaddi 2022. The right corner defender scored 82 tackle points in 22 games for the Tamil Thalaivas.
Despite his extraordinary performances, the Thalaivas finished 11th in the Pro Kabaddi points table. The team is likely to retain Rathee for the next season, though.
Left Corner - Sandeep Dhull
Jaipur Pink Panthers captain Sandeep Dhull was the most successful defender in his team this season. He scored 53 tackle points from 19 games to ensure that his team was alive in the race for the playoffs till the end.
The Jaipur star scored four High 5s in the season besides executing one super tackle. He would be a little disappointed with himself because he managed only a solitary tackle point in the do-or-die game against Puneri Paltan, though.