What could be Dabang Delhi’s probable starting seven in PKL 9?

Defending champions will look to retain their title in the upcoming PKL edition.

Last year’s champion, Dabang Delhi, will take the field to retain their title in the upcoming edition. They defeated Patna Pirates in the final of the previous season to win their first-ever Pro Kabaddi League (PKL) title. This year, the team has bought several youngsters and some experienced players as well. The franchise had some legendary players in their squad last time who are not a part of the team now.

There will be a completely different defense department this time with no Sandeep Narwal and Manjeet Chhillar in the side. While Sandeep Narwal went unsold in the auction, Manjeet Chhillar has taken up a coaching role. Youngsters must play at their best if Delhi has to win it like a ‘Dabang’. Here are the probable seven from Dabang Delhi for the PKL 9:

Raiders

A raider like Naveen Kumar can turn the match on his own. Having played just 3 seasons so far, he is one of the finest in the business. Naveen scored 690 raid points in his 62 matches. The raider missed some matches in the last season due to injury but performed well, racking up 210 raid points in 17 matches. Naveen Kumar will be the biggest face of the team this time.

Apart from Naveen, Dabang Delhi also has Vijay Malik in the form of an all-rounder. He played extremely well in the last season and took his side across the line in the knockout stages with his extraordinary raiding skills. Malik scored 162 raid points in 23 games in PKL 8. Ashu Malik can also be used as a third raider in the squad.

Defenders

We will see a huge difference in the defense department of Dabang Delhi. They released all their senior players before the auction to make it a brand-new defense. They bought some interesting players in the form of Amit Hooda and Sandeep Dhull, who can play in the right and left corner respectively. Sandeep is a great pick for Delhi as he is known for his brilliant ankle hold.

On the other hand, Vishal Lather can be used as a left cover in the squad while the right cover will surely be Ravi Kumar, for whom Dabang Delhi has spent a lot of money. He was bought for 64 lakh in the auction and would definitely be in the starting seven. Though the whole defense department is full of youngsters, they can give a tough fight to any raiding department. It would be interesting to see with what strategy the coach, Krishna Kumar Hooda, takes the field.

Here is the probable starting seven of the team:

Raiders: Naveen Kumar, Vijay Malik, Ashu Malik

Defenders: Sandeep Dhull, Amit Hooda, Vishal Lather, Ravi Kumar