Going into the Pro Kabaddi League season 6, Dabang Delhi have lined up without too many big names. Aside from Ravinder Pahal in the right corner, the team lacks a star player that can make the difference for them.
Meraj Sheykh has been retained and after his declining performance in PKL 5, which was affected by injuries, his role in making a strong comeback is key for Delhi.
This season once again, they are going into the season without an established frontline raider.
Shabeer Bappu has been on the decline and it may fall on Pawan Kadian and Chandran Ranjit to support Meraj Sheykh if he is going to be Delhi’s frontline raider this season.
Here’s a look at the five players to watch in Dabang Delhi.
1. Meraj Sheykh
Meraj Sheykh, the Iranian all-rounder started his PKL career with the Telugu Titans in PKL 2. His numbers were brilliant in the first two seasons, he scored 56 raid points at a strike rate of 50 and 30 tackle points at a strike rate of 49 and was one of the best all-rounders in the league at that point.
Dabang Delhi bought him for Rs 19 lakhs in the PKL season 4 auction. He added 63 raid points and 12 tackle points at an average of 5.3 points per game for Delhi. Though, he was categorised as an all-rounder, his tackle failure rate (70) was very high and he was slowly leaning more towards raiding. He was retained by Delhi ahead of PKL 5 and made captain for the season.
He was the top raider for Delhi with 96 raid points at a strike rate of 33, but his defensive skills seems to have dropped and he scored only eight tackle points. His performance in raiding is also declining and his tackle failure rate went up to 78 percent. Despite all of this, he was retained by Delhi in PKL 6 as well, which shows the trust the team has placed in him.
2. Ravinder Pahal
Ravinder Pahal ‘The Hawk', is one of the most well-known defenders in the PKL. He is back to Dabang Delhi where he started his PKL career in season 1. He played for Dabang Delhi for three seasons. He had an exceptional performance in Season 2 scoring 60 tackles at a strike rate of 63, which is the best by any defender in PKL 2. Puneri Paltan roped him into their squad in PKL 4. He did not have an impressive season in Pune and finished the season with 37 tackle points at a tackle strike rate of 51.
In PKL 5, Bengaluru Bulls bought him for Rs 50 lakh. Ravinder Pahal’s season 5 was a roller coaster season as he secured 52 tackles points at a tackle strike rate of 50. He also received a red card (second player to receive in PKL) for his poor attitude towards the referee.
Ravinder Pahal was unsold initially in the PKL 6 auction and then his former franchise Dabang Delhi bought him for Rs 20 lakh.
3. Vishal Mane
Vishal Mane was the second-best defender in his former team Patna Pirates. He scored 39 tackle points in 26 matches, which helped the Pirates reach the final and eventually win the tournament. He is an aggressive player, who received four green cards and one yellow card last year.
Vishal Mane’s PKL 5 was poor. His Tackle SR came down to 35 from 47 (in PKL 4). He was one of the best defenders in PKL 4 with an average tackle point of 2.2 per game. In PKL 5, he managed to score an average tackle points of 1.5 per game.
Vishal Mane scored a High 5 in PKL 2 final for U Mumba which helped them win the title.
4. Shabeer Bappu
Shabeer Bappu has a lot of experience under his belt and he can be a good secondary raider for Dabang Delhi. He can help the team by rescuing their main raider whenever needed. He had 38 points from 12 games in PKL 5.
He was the fifth best in Do or Die raids in PKL 2. He scored nine raid points (which includes a super raid scoring three touch points in the 36th minute) in the final against Bengaluru Bulls which gave U Mumba the Title of PKL 2.
5. Rajesh Narwal
Rajesh Narwal is an effective all-rounder who can raid and defend. He had scored 11 raid points and 16 tackle points in PKL 5. He is also an aggressive player with five green cards and one yellow card given to him.
Narwal had the second most points for an all-rounder in the third season of the Pro Kabaddi League.
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