PKL 11: Top 10 Young Players to watch out for at Pro Kabaddi League season 11

These young players will be plying their trade in PKL 11.

Kabaddi is a sport that is traditionally rooted in Indian soil and there are numerous talents from every corner of the country. While this has been done for centuries, all these talents were playing on the maidans and making only the locals watch them in awe, until a decade ago when Pro Kabaddi League was launched in 2014.

The league has grown in stature in the last decade and now it is the world that has been watching many young talents on display. The likes of Naveen Kumar and Narender Kandola began their careers as New Young Players and now become the team’s mainstay. Aslam Inamdar has grown to lead their side and become a regular on the Indian side.

With a new season PKL beckons, there will be multiple new young players who are eager to make it to the big league. Let’s take a look at 10 such talents who will be on display.

10. Aditya S. Shinde – Bengal Warriorz

Bengal Warriorz will be one of the favorites for the season having built one of the strongest squads. The league’s successful defender Fazel Atrachali will be leading the side and one man who will be happy is Aditya Shinde as the youngster will look to learn more from the veteran left-corner defender.

Having made his debut last season, he showed glimpses of brilliance with 28 points. He will be richer with his experience in his debut season and with the Iranian veteran in the squad, the youngster could come of age at the end of the season.

9. Parteek – Bengaluru Bulls

Parteek was one of the finds of Bengaluru Bulls last season. The support staff was pleased by the performance of the left-cover defender and have retained the youngster. One of his finest performances came against Puneri Paltans scoring six tackle points. The youngster is a work in progress and under Randhir Singh Sehrawat’s guidance, he will mature to make a bigger impact in the upcoming season.

8. Nitin Kumar – Bengal Warriorz

Nitin Kumar was one of the few bright spots in a rather disappointing campaign for Bengal Warriorz in season 10. The 23-year-old successfully relieved Maninder Singh’s workload, which helped the team that won season seven. It was paramount to have a secondary raider and Nitin did the job to perfection. During his debut season, Nitin scored an incredible 169 raid points in just 20 games. He even managed eight Super 10s, showcasing his prowess in raiding.

7. Amirmohammed Zafardanesh – U Mumba

Ahead of the tenth season, U Mumba rehired Iranian coach Gholamreza Mazandarani to strategies for the season. They brought in Amirmohammad Zafardanesh, another Iranian who dominated the season. The opposing defense was tricked by his quick reflexes and agility, as the all-around player scored 141 points in 20 games. He emerged as the team’s top raider for the season and has been retained for the upcoming season. The 20-year-old will look to create a bigger impact for the season two champions.

6. Ashish – Dabang Delhi KC

In Kabaddi the hunt for raiders will be through defensive pairs, and Dabang Delhi KC found an Ashish – Yogesh Dahiya pair who made waves in the league in season 10. These two’s boldness in attacking the Raiders rocked the strategies of every opposing Raider. With his 48 points in 19 games, Ashish forced veteran player Vishal Bharadwaj to sit on the bench as he assumed the left corner position.

The youngster went on to keep his place in the side for season 11. Despite the absence of star Raider Naveen Kumar, these two’s performances helped the season eight champions qualify for the playoffs and will be eyeing the trophy this season.

5. Shivam Patare – Haryana Steelers

The Haryana Steelers discovered a gem in Shivam Patare, a left-raider who made a significant impact for them in making their first-ever PKL finals. Notably, In the Eliminator match against Gujarat Giants, Patare demonstrated his exceptional speed and agility by outwitting the more experienced defenders under the direction of Fazel Atrachalli.

These kinds of performances made him, without a doubt, one of the season’s best debutant raiders from last season. He has been retained over the experienced Siddharth Desai and K Prapanjan, which shows the trust his coach Manpreet has in him. He will be one to watch out for.

4 Sudhakar M – Patna Pirates

Patna Pirates threw the biggest surprise when they released Sachin Tanwar ahead of the auction. The three-time champions retained the likes of Sandeep and Sudhakar M for the upcoming season. Sudhakar had an impressive season with Patna and will look to thrive with the faith their coach has shown. The Tamilnadu boy played a key role in driving the team to the semi-finals The teenager amassed 103 raid points last season and will be pivotal to the Pirates’ chances.

3 Gagan Gowda – UP Yoddhas

UP Yoddhas was one of the favorites going into season 10 of the Pro Kabaddi League. But the results weren’t favorable to them and Coach Jasveer Singh introduced several fresh faces to the mat after realizing they would not be making the playoffs, and Gagan Gowda was one of them.

The Right Raider seized the opportunity, scoring the second-most points for Yoddhas this season with 92 points in 13 games. Experts were impressed with his agility and will again be looking to show his class to the Yoddhas.

2 Ankit Jaglan – Patna Pirates

Ankit Jaglan’s discovery last season is just one example of the Patna Pirates’ unwavering commitment to developing new talent. After spending an incredible 31.5 lakhs in the auction, he was assigned significant defensive responsibilities by the Patna Pirates, who were hoping he would be another rising star.

Ankit proved he was up to the challenge by putting up a standout performance, finishing 23 games with 66 tackle points and quieting his critics. The three-time champions will look to depend on the left-corner defender to be the star of their campaign.

1 Yogesh – Dabang Delhi KC

Yogesh Dahiya was awarded the new young player last season. It wasn’t a surprise, especially for last season’s coach Rambit Singh Khokhar who predicted he to feature in the top three defenders in the season. With 74 points, the 21-year-old finished third on the list of players with the most tackle points, living up to his coach’s expectations.

Yogesh is a right-corner defender who performed admirably in his PKL debut season last year. Playing for a prominent team like Dabang Delhi KC, he has taken the league like a fish out of water. He will look to consolidate in the upcoming season.

For more updates, follow Khel Now Kabaddi on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram; download the Khel Now Android App or IOS App and join our community on Whatsapp & Telegram.