Jaipur Pink Panthers: PKL 10 Retained and Released players list
Pro Kabaddi League's 2nd most successful outfit and Season 9 champions Jaipur Pink Panthers will be out to defend their title for the first time since the PKL 2. They defeated Puneri Paltan last year to win their 2nd ever title by a score line of 33-29.
The 10th season will provide them with an opportunity to go level with Patna Pirates' record of 3 PKL titles. But if they are to do so, Jaipur Pink Panthers will have to make sure they do well in the PKL 10 player auctions.
Unlike several PKL sides, the Pink Panthers have retained their core set of players that thrived last year. It is a good strategy given the fact that they are reluctant to play with the team's combination. They have kept 6 players in the first category - Elite players list. Core players Sunil Kumar, Arjun Deshwal, V Ajith Kumar, Reza Mirbhageri, Bhavani Rajput and Sahul Kumar are all among the elite players.
Retention of Arjun Deshwal is a no-brainer as he was the League's best raider last season. He scored 296 raid points in 24 matches to navigate his side to their 2nd title. Sunil Kumar was last season's 4th best Defender, collecting 64 tackle points while Sahul Kumar finished with 56 tackle points.
Jaipur have not included anyone in the retained young players list but have 4 players in the Existing young players list. Season 9's best defender Ankush has received the nod for his splendid 89 tackle points in 24 matches.
Abhishek KS, Ashish and Devank are the 3 players in the Existing young players list. If we talk about Jaipur Pink Panthers' journey last season then they finished on top of the table with 82 points. Out of 22 matches, Jaipur won 15, lost 6 times and Drew once.
They were the only team to have a triple digit score difference - 174. In the finale last year, Jaipur won by a margin of just 4 points and it was a contest that went down the wire. Every time that Puneri Paltan tried to come out from the jaws of defeat, Jaipur Pink Panthers only made matters worse for them.
Raider Arjun Deshwal and V Ajith Kumar scored 6 raid points each while rest of the case was handled by Jaipur's might defense. Abhishek KS (3), Reza Mirbagheri (1), Sahul Kumar (3) and Ankush (3) shared 10 tackle points between them.
From the opposing side Akash Shinde, Mohammad Nabibaksh and Abinesh Nadarajan scored 4 points each but a poor defensive display cost them in the end. Meanwhile, player auction for Pro Kabaddi League 10 will take place on 8th and 9th September while the season begins from 7th of December.
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