Analyzing Dabang Delhi ahead of Pro Kabaddi League Season 8

The team bought some experienced players in the recently concluded auction.

The Pro Kabaddi League (PKL) will be back with its eighth edition after a long gap due to COVID-19. The auction process has been completed as several teams bought some big players. All the teams have chosen players according to their combination. Some franchises managed to get their favourite players while others failed to do so. It was an exciting process.

Post the auction, the list of players of different teams is ready and one can identify any team’s strengths and weaknesses on its basis. In this article, we will be focussing on Dabang Delhi.

Pro Kabaddi League Season 7 finalists Dabang Delhi have got their hands on amazing players in this year’s auction. The team have given weight to experienced players this time around and have bought stars like Ajay Thakur, Manjit Chhillar and Jeewa Kumar.

Strengths of

“Naveen Express” might speed up the game again

Naveen Kumar has made a name for himself in the Pro Kabaddi League with his performances in a very short span of time. He made his debut for Dabang Delhi in the sixth season and is the youngest player to score 300 raid points. In his first campaign for Dabang Delhi in 2018, Naveen Kumar had scored 177 points.

He continued his excellent form in the seventh season as well and scored a total of 303 points. Apart from this, he also bagged a record of putting 22 Super 10s in 23 matches. He also holds the record for the most consecutive Super 10s. He will be the biggest strength of his team in the upcoming season as well.

Ajay Thakur's experience will be helpful

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Ajay Thakur is a legend of Indian Kabaddi. The last season of the Pro Kabaddi League may not have been good for him, but he has the potential to make a comeback. Owing to his experience, Ajay Thakur can bring a lot of success to Dabang Delhi. Apart from this, he can also mentor young raiders like Naveen Kumar and Neeraj Narwal. Naveen will get a chance to learn a lot from him and this will further enhance his skills.

The presence of Jeewa Kumar and Manjit Chhillar make a strong defence

Dabang Delhi surprised everyone by releasing Ravinder Pahal. However, they have made up for it by buying Manjit Chillar and Jeewa Kumar during the auction. Both Chhillar and Jeewa are very good defenders and will provide a lot of strength to the team.

Although Manjit Chhillar is an all-rounder, his contribution remains more in defence. He is the first player in the history of the Pro Kabaddi League to score 300 tackle points. On the other hand, Jeewa Kumar was a part of the Bengal Warriors, who won the title last season and he did well against Dabang Delhi in the final. He has the experience of winning the title and it can be very useful for Dabang Delhi.

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Dabang Delhi also have a useful all-rounder in the form of Sandeep Narwal. Apart from defence, he can also contribute significantly in raiding and this will improve the balance of the team. He also completed 300 tackle points in the seventh season.

Weaknesses

Although Dabang Delhi are looking strong for the upcoming season of the Pro Kabaddi League, there are still some shortcomings in the team. This could once again deal a big blow to their hopes of winning the title.

Ajay Thakur's poor form

Ajay Thakur's performance has not been good in the last two seasons and in such a situation, a lot of eyes will be on him this time around. There will be a lot of pressure on Thakur himself and its effect could be seen in his game. If he does not fully support Naveen Kumar, then the problems of the team can increase.

Defenders can get injured due to old age

If we talk about the top three defenders of Dabang Delhi in the upcoming season of the Pro Kabaddi League, their age is 35 or above. Manjit Chillar is 35-years-old. The age of captain Joginder Narwal is 39 years and Jeeva Kumar is 40-years-old. Pro Kabaddi League Season 8 will be a long one and fatigue could affect these players. It can also increase the chances of injuries, which could put a dent in Delhi's hopes of winning their first PKL title.

Full Squad

Raiders – Ajay Thakur, Emad Sedaghatnia, Naveen Kumar, Neeraj Narwal, Sushant Sail.

Defenders- Jeeva Kumar, Mohit, Sumit, Joginder Narwal, Mohammad Malak, Vikash Kumar.

All Rounders – Balram, Manjeet Chillar, Sandeep Narwal, Vijay Jaglan.

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