Ranking the best performers from Gujarat Fortunegiants so far
Gujarat Fortunegiants – one of 4 new teams – in Season 5 of Pro Kabaddi League (PKL) announced themselves to the rest of the world at The Arena in Ahmedabad. With a win, a draw and a loss in their opening three encounters away from home, Sukesh Hegde’s team finally found their rhythm at home as they romped to 5 wins and a draw to end their home leg unbeaten.
When the fixtures list was announced back in June, not many would have expected to see the newly formed franchise from Gujarat to be in the knockout spots, let alone at the top of the table. However, 3 weeks in, Manpreet Singh and his team have done the unexpected as they sit atop Zone A with 6 wins and 2 draws in their 9 matches.
Their swift rise to the top can be attributed to the sensational performances by the players, who defied expectations and showed their calibre when it mattered most.
Let’s rank the top 5 players from Gujarat Fortunegiants that have made the team a force to be reckoned with:
#5 Mahendra Singh Rajput
The former Bengal Warriors raider has adapted quickly to his new team. Burdened with expectation of carrying the raiding department for the Warriors, Rajput is relishing his role at Gujarat and it has shown in his performances.
Although he’s only played 5 matches for his team, Mahendra Singh Rajput has managed to score 19 raid points and a solitary tackle point. The 27-year-old has a respectable raid success rate of 40% with his new team and provided ample support to his main raiders.
While one could say Rajput didn’t have a fixed role with the Warriors, they can’t make the same claim thanks to his exploits with the Fortunegiants. The lanky raider has become a reliable asset for the team thanks to his consistent performances off the bench. Manpreet Singh often turns to him when he needs the course of the game to change, and Rajput, more often than not, delivers, as he exemplified in a splendid super raid late in the game to earn Gujarat a draw against his former team.