Who are the top five New Young Players (NYP) of PKL season 9?

These youngsters made their breakthrough this season.

Pro Kabaddi League (PKL) has been producing loads of youngsters since its inception and in season 9 too many played equivalent to experienced players. Yuva Kabaddi series, Khelo India Youth Games, and the Khelo India University Games are the tournaments from where players like Ankush Rathee and Narender Kandola have progressed as NYPs and in the future more talents could be seen evolving.

Rohit Tomar

The young raider from UP Yoddhas was close to getting to the 100 raid points mark in his debut season and was a dependable secondary raider to Pardeep Narwal throughout Pro Kabaddi League (PKL) season 9. Many were expecting Nitin Tomar to don the raiding duties when Surender Gill got injured in the mid-season but coach Jasveer Singh had high hopes for the youngster and delivered as expected. In one of the matches, he scored more than 15 plus raid points scoring more than the “Record Breaker” Pardeep Narwal showing complete confidence and composure.

Mohit Kaler

Mohit Kaler the left-corner defender scored 44 tackle points in 20 matches and was one of the young defenders to watch out for. U Mumba was possessing a good defensive setup consisting of Rinku and Surinder Singh and Mohit Kaler was an added advantage for the season 2 champions. The combination of Mohit and Rinku was successful with both being the top two defenders with the most tackle points for U Mumba. The defender was also involved in six super tackle situations and stood eighth in the super tackles list.

Parteek Dahiya

Parteek Dahiya scored 183 points in 19 matches and if not for injury could have breached the 200 raid points mark in his debut season as well. He was the top raider for the side which consisted of experienced like captain Chandran Ranjith, Rakesh, and Prasanth Kumar Rai. After Rakesh suffered an injury and was out of form Parteek took over the primary raiding duties and played above expectations. It was the inefficiency of the defence which hurt Gujarat’s chances of entering the playoff spot.

Ankush Rathee

Ankush the left-corner defender from Jaipur Pink Panthers was adjudged the best defender of season 9 scoring the most tackle points. The youngster scored 89 tackle points and got good support from his teammates who involved themselves in crucial assists. Jaipur was the only team in season 9 to have three defenders score 50 plus tackle points the major reason for them winning the title. Many experts have often say “Raiders win you matches but defenders you trophies” which was applicable in the case of Jaipur’s victory.

Narender Kandola

The 19-year-old from Haryana scored 249 points in 23 matches and was influential in Tamil Thalaivas reaching the maiden playoffs. The combo of Narender and Ajinkya Pawar worked well and were the backbone of the raiding department. Narender scored a super 10 in his debut match in the presence of Pawan Sehrawat who got injured in the first match of the season. The youngster never looked under pressure and was also involved in a crucial tackle tackling Pardeep Narwal in eliminator 2 the primary reason for Tamil Thalaivas reaching the semifinals.