Five instances when players suffered season-ending injuries in PKL

Pawan Sehrawat has been ruled out for the entirety of the league because of the surgery he has to undergo.

Injuries have hampered the chances of many Pro Kabaddi League PKL teams in the past losing out on important players at the start or at the midseason. Kabaddi is a contact sport the injuries cannot be restricted either with players playing with a lot of aggression. The timeframe of the Pro Kabaddi League is around three months and if a player gets injured they need time for recovery and rehab which requires more time hence players get sidelined for the whole tournament.

In this article let’s look at players who got sidelined due to injuries for the whole season across nine seasons.

Pawan Sehrawat (Tamil Thalaivas)

The star raider got injured in the first match of PKL season 9 itself and could score only one raid point in the seven minutes he played. Pawan sent Narender Kandola and Ajinkya to raid ahead of him initially probably playing it safe due to his injured knee. But while attempting a tackle the raider twisted his knee and was stretchered off and was sidelined for the whole season.

Pawan was brought by Tamil Thalaivas for a whopping 2.26 crores the highest bid across nine seasons. The total purse for all teams was around the 4 cr mark. But Tamil Thalaivas put more than half the bid on Pawan as the team was looking for a top-class raider that they did not have after the exit of Ajay Thakur.

Ajay Thakur (Dabang Delhi KC)

Ajay Thakur was brought by Dabang Delhi KC for 46 lakhs in the PKL season 8 as one of their main raiders supporting Naveen Kumar but the franchise did not provide much game time to the experienced raider. The former Indian captain could score only five raid points before the injury and couldn't play the entire season thereafter. After being the primary raider and captain for Tamil Thalaivas the Delhi franchise believed in Ajay’s experience and captainship but couldn't make full use of it.

Prapanjan (Tamil Thalaivas)

After an excellent season with Bengal Warriors in season 7, Tamil Thalaivas were in search of a good raider who could fill in the shoes of Ajay Thakur. The southern franchise brought Prapanjan for a whopping 77 lakhs. Being from Tamil Nadu the franchise put full hope on the statesmen. But unfortunately got injured in the initial half of the season itself. Manjeet Dahiya and Ajinkya Pawar tried hard to fill in the raider's gap. 

Surender Nada (Patna Pirates) 

Patna Pirates in PKL season 7 brought the veteran defender Surender Nada for 77 lakhs. Patna Pirates had an excellent raiding attack led by dubki king Pardeep Narwal. But it was the defence that was hampering their performances. To tackle this Patna bid successfully for Surender but unfortunately, he got sidelined for the whole season 7. He was suffering from an injury in the previous season as well. But the franchise was hopeful of him staying injury-free and put the majority of the bid on him. Patna then replaced Nada with Monu who was a decent pick in the all-rounder's section.

Nitin Tomar (Puneri Paltan)

Nitin Tomar could play only 11 matches overall in season 6 for Puneri Paltan. Before getting injured the star raider scored 102 raid points at a healthy rate of 9 points per match but couldn't further. Nitin was brought for 1.15 crores and Anup Kumar had full hopes for him. The reason Puneri went all out for Nitin was that he scored 177 points in season 5 for UP Yoddhas which was also his most successful season. Puneri Paltan just finished outside the playoffs spot in season 6.