Pro Kabaddi 2023 Auction: 3 teams that should target Pawan Sehrawat
There was a huge buzz surrounding the auction for PKL 2022, with one question on everyone's minds, 'Where will Pawan Sehrawat go?' The Tamil Thalaivas and U Mumba got into a bidding war to answer that question and at ₹2.26 crores, it was settled. The Thalaivas had their new lead raider in Sehrawat.
However, he suffered a knee injury in his first match of the season, which ruled him out for quite a while. However, he looks to be back to full fitness after starring in India's successful Asian Kabaddi Championship campaign a couple of months ago.
The Thalaivas have opted not to retain Pawan Sehrawat for the second season running. Hence, his destination at the auction is a major talking point. Let's look at three teams that should target him at the auction.
#3 Tamil Thalaivas
The expectations surrounding Pawan Sehrawat and the Thalaivas were immense, but his injury in the very first game of the season put a damper on all of that. It is to the Thalaivas' credit that they managed to recover from that blow and make it all the way to the semi-finals without a player they spent nearly half their budget on.
The Thalaivas unsurprisingly released Pawan Sehrawat ahead of the auction, but they remain one of the favorites to sign him because of their FBM card. They could certainly make do without Pawan and sign another raider to partner the find of last season, Narender Hoshiyar, in the raiding department.
However, if the other teams are a bit cautious in going for the Hi-Flyer due to his injury layoff, the Thalaivas will be glad to add a raider of his caliber to join forces with Narender.
#2 Bengal Warriors
After back-to-back disappointing campaigns, the Bengal Warriors appear to have gone back to a clean slate for the 10th edition of the Pro Kabaddi League.
The Season 7 champions have retained zero players from the Elite and New Young Player category and that includes star raider Maninder Singh. While there remains a genuine possibility that they will re-sign him using their FBM card, there is a good chance they might go after Pawan Sehrawat.
With an almost full purse to spend at the auction, the Bengal Warriors should be the most active team. While they'll also need to focus on their defense, they definitely have the money and the need to engage in a bidding war for one of the best raiders available at the auction.
#1 Telugu Titans
The Telugu Titans' best seasons have come when they have a powerhouse raider, a couple of decent supporting raiders, and a good defense to back him up. With Siddharth Desai, Monu Goyat, and Abhishek Singh part of the Titans last season, there was a sense their raiding department would fire on all cylinders, but it was the complete opposite.
The Titans secured the least number of raid points, with Desai the highest-scoring raider. He picked up 142 points in 17 games, a total lower than half the total of the highest-point-scoring raider of the tournament, Arjun Deshwal.
With Rajnish the only recognized raider in their retentions, the Titans' search for a lead raider to have the impact that Rahul Chaudhari had will extend to this auction. Pawan Sehrawat might be the solution to their problem.
With Parvesh Bhainswal their only Elite retention, they certainly have the purse to go for Pawan Sehrawat though there's a good chance he might not even be that expensive. The Telugu Titans should likely be leading the bidding war that is most likely to ensue for the Hi-Flyer.