PKL 12: Haryana Steelers full squad list ft. Naveen Kumar
Haryana Steelers roped in Naveen Kumar for a massive ₹1.2 crore.
The defending Pro Kabaddi League (PKL) champion Haryana Steelers have almost retained their core and had all corners ticked going into the PKL 12 auction. They just had to take a good raider and a replacement for Mohammadreza Shadloui.
Haryana managed to retain their core: Jaideep, Rahul Sethpal, Vinay, Shivam Patare. Unfortunately, they had no other option but to release the MVP of the tournament, Mohammadreza Shadloui, as they didn’t have the budget for him. Hence, their main focus was to secure a left corner in the auction.
In the auction, Haryana Steelers bought Naveen Kumar, popularly known as Naveen Express, one of the finest raiders in PKL history. Naveen’s presence will improve the raiding department of Haryana as it adds great versatility in the squad. With Vinay and Shivam Patare as the 2nd and third raiders, Naveen will be a great addition to the squad. If the fitness issues are not there, Haryana raiding is one of the best raiding units in the PKL 12.
Head coach Manpreet Singh expressed his satisfaction and surprise after buying Naveen for just ₹1.2 crore, revealing that the franchise had allocated a bigger budget for him and was happy to secure him at a relatively less price than they thought.
Haryana Steelers further added depth to the squad by taking a young raider from Nepal, Ghanshyam Roka Magar, who also featured in the Yuva Kabaddi series and was also with Haryana. In defence, they have taken Hardeep and Rahul as the replacements for Mohammadreza Shadloui. Rahul is a promising defender, and if given a chance in the first seven, he can do wonders for Haryana.
Haryana Steelers are overall looking strong with the addition of Naveen Kumar; their raiding has become stronger. However, their defence had become weak after losing both Sanjay and Mohammadreza Shadloui. With Manpreet as the coach, Haryana will be doing well in defence as Manpreet always focuses on the defence more and builds a defence-heavy team. So, one can trust Manpreet’s scouting of new and young players that he has brought into the team.
Haryana Steelers Squad for PKL 12
Raiders: Vinay, Shivam Patare, Jaya Soorya NS, Vishal S Tate, Vikas Ramdas Jadhav (NYP), Naveen Kumar, Mayank Saini, Ghansyam Roka Magar, Sahan Sha Mohammed
Defenders: Rahul Sethpal, Jaideep, Manikandan N (NYP), Ankit (NYP), Rahul, Hardeep, Sachin, Zubair, Ritik
All-rounders: Sahil (NYP), Ashish
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Anmol is a sports freelancer and writer who specializes in Olympic sports. He has been associated with Khel Now since 2023. An engineer by qualification, he holds a degree in computer science. A passionate sports enthusiast, Anmol follows almost every Olympic sports. He runs a Twitter page as well called Sports Arena and is quite active on Twitter on his ID, Anmolkakkar27, to promote sports in India. His favorite sport is badminton, and his favourite sportsperson is Saina Nehwal. An ardent supporter of Delhi-based teams across all sports leagues, Anmol also closely follows and covers parasports as well.