PKL 12: Top five best players of Patna Pirates in Pro Kabaddi 2025

The Patna Pirates have formed a strong team for PKL 12.

The Pro Kabaddi League‘s most successful team, Patna Pirates, have the key to success. They punched above their weight in the previous edition with a young squad. However, their dreams of becoming the fourth-time champion were dashed in the final by the mighty Haryana Steelers, who defeated the Pirates 32-23.

Surprisingly, they parted ways with head coach Narender Redhu soon after the summit clash. However, they have handed over the command to Kabaddi veteran Anup Kumar. The Patna-based franchise lost their best raider of season 11, Devank Dalal, to the Bengal Warriorz, but have managed to pick up veteran Maninder Singh.

Ayan Lohchab, who was retained ahead of the auction, will have an even bigger role in the upcoming edition. As far as the defence is concerned, the three-time champions have spent heavily to bring back last season’s defenders. Ankit Jaglan and Deepak Singh will try to form a strong unit with Sanket Sawant. On that note, let’s take a look at their top five best players for PKL 12.

5. Sanket Sawant

Sanket Sawant is the only new face in the Pirates’ defence in season 12. The left cover finds a new destination after five seasons with the Puneri Paltan. He has scored a total of 122 tackle points in 95 matches with a tackle strike rate of 37%.

The 25-year-old from Rajapur, Maharashtra, accumulated 27 tackle points in 21 matches last season. Having been bought at a significant price of Rs. 40.50 lakhs at the auction, Sanket’s experience would be valuable in a team that has several youngsters.

4. Deepak Singh

After an impressive performance last season, Patna Pirates retained Deepak Singh for two seasons via FBM for Rs 86 lakh. The right cover made his PKL debut in Season eight. After two unproductive campaigns with the Jaipur Pink Panthers, he got his breakthrough with the Gujarat Giants, notching up 43 tackle points in 14 matches.

The Pirates then had to bid hard to secure his services in the PKL 11 auction. Deepak repaid the faith, finishing as the best right cover with 64 tackle points in 25 matches with a success rate of 47% (four high 5s). He also scored 12 raid points, raising his hand during tough situations. Now seen as a long-term option, he would be looking to continue his form in the upcoming edition.

3. Maninder Singh

Patna managed to snap up ‘Mighty’ Maninder Singh at his base price of Rs. 20 lakhs. The 35-year-old from Punjab has racked up 1,528 raid points in 158 matches, and he is the second-best raider in the league’s history. He also won the PKL title twice.

However, age seems to be taking its toll as he struggled with injuries and poor form in the last edition, scoring just 100 raid points in 15 outings. Maninder will play for a new team for the first time after joining the Bengal Warriorz in PKL 5. While he is likely to be appointed as the skipper, he won’t be the lead raider here. Hence, he will be able to play with more freedom.

2. Ayan Lohchab

Ayan Lohchab was retained as a New Young Player (NYP) by the three-time champions before the season 12 auction. The raider did a superb job, playing second fiddle to Devank Dalal and reviving him when he was on the bench. He scored 184 raid points (fifth best in the season) in 25 matches, with seven Super 10s last season.

The 19-year-old used his height and speed to good effect, raiding well even when the opposition had four or five defenders on the mat. With Devank no longer on the side, Ayan will have to take on the mantle of leading the department. He would also look to contribute assists in defence, like he did last season.

1. Ankit Jaglan

The Patna Pirates paid a whopping sum of Rs. 1.573 Cr to exercise the FBM (one season) on Ankit Jaglan. He has been with Patna for the last two editions, having been included in the team after a tough bidding war during the PKL 10 auction.

The left corner had delivered straightaway, scoring 66 tackle points in 23 matches (four high 5s). With the additional responsibility of leading a young team, Ankit finished as the second-best defender in Season 11. He scored 79 tackle points in 25 outings, with four High-5s. The side would be glad to have this strong and sharp defender back in their ranks again.

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