Pro Kabaddi League 2019: Ranking the defenders of the 12 teams
The 7th season of Pro Kabaddi League is set to commence on July 18th and the teams have done their part by building up a strong team filled with the right players at the auction which was held on 8th and 9th of April in Mumbai. Siddharth Desai, the raiding sensation was the most expensive player as he was bought for ₹1.45 Crore by the Telugu Titans.
The raiders fetched more money but the defenders too saw some increase from what they previously got and this highlights the fact that teams are beginning to understand the importance of a strong defensive unit. Many teams have in fact, built their team around their defense and have had successful outings.
On that note, let's take a look at the defenders of the 12 teams and rank them.
#12 Haryana Steelers
Defending Options: Kuldeep Singh, Sunil, Dharmaraj Cheralathan, Vikas Kale, Parveen, Ravi Kumar, Vikram Kandola , Subhash Narwal
The Haryana Steelers seem to be the weakest side this season with both their raiding and defensive units boasting of no big names. Their defense has a lot of options but they lack someone to effectively spearhead their unit. Dharmaraj Cheralathan can be a calm head who can organize their defense but he himself hasn't been performing in the league.
Kuldeep Singh, Ravi Kumar and Vikas Kale are expected to occupy the left corner and cover positions for the team. Both of them had average outings last season and this defense seems to have no bonding and has been assembled only at this auction.
Parveen and Vikram Kandola will be decent backup options but a lack of a consistent defender who can get 3-4 tackle points per game will hurt them.
#11 Bengal Warriors
Defending Options: Jeeva Kumar, Mohammad Nabibakhsh Dharmendra Singh, Viraj Vishnu Landge, Vijin Thangadurai,Sahil, Amit, Rinku Narwal, Baldev Singh, Adarsh T, Amir Santosh Dhumal, A.R. Avinash
The Bengal Warriors have a host of defensive options to play with but unfortunately, none of them except for Jeeva Kumar have too much experience and haven't done well in previous editions. Mohammad Nabibakhsh and Jeeva Kumar are expected to play in the cover positions while Rinku Narwal and Baldev Singh are expected to play in he corner positions.
The team has many backup options in players like Vijin Thangadurai, Adarsh T, Viraj Vishnu but none of them have done anything special in the league so far.
Bengal have an average-looking defense with plenty of options but with none of them looking really strong.