Pro Kabaddi League Season 9 Team Profile: Gujarat Giants

The team has less experience in the raiding department.

The Gujarat Giants have a new-look squad this year under new head coach Ram Mehar Singh. Gujarat stands third on the list of most money spent at the auction table ahead of Season 9 – Rs. 3.12 Crores.

The franchise from Gujarat made its debut in the Pro Kabaddi League (PKL) as late as season five. Giants finished as runners-up in two consecutive seasons – five & six, the team has fallen off the hook in the past couple of seasons. 

Having brought in Ram Mehar Singh as the Head Coach ahead of Season 9, the Giants would be aiming for the trophy under his reign. Ram Mehar Singh has a track record of victorious campaigns in the tournament. He is the most successful head coach in the league, with his teams having won three PKL titles. 

In this article, we do a season preview for the Giants, citing the strengths and weaknesses of the team. We also list out some players that the fans can get excited about.

Strengths of the Gujarat Giants

A solid defence unit 

History speaks for itself that Ram Mehar Singh’s teams have always been astute defensively. His former team Patna Pirates led the charts for all kinds of defensive numbers at the end of season 8. 

The likes of Sunil, Parvesh, and Ravinder Pahal have found new homes. However, Gujarat Giants have been able to recruit some top-class defenders in the Season 9 auction. The cover combination of Rinku Narwal and Baldev Singh will be playing in Giants’ colours for this season.

They have together been the solid rock of the title-winning team of Bengal Warriors, two seasons ago. Rinku was acquired for Rs. 40 lakhs, while Baldev was bought for Rs. 21.5 lakhs. A lot will depend on this duo, as the team lacks high-profile backups in the defence department. 

They have also bought a decent player in Sandeep Kandola. Even though Sandeep was error-prone for Telugu Titans last season, he would be hoping to perform to the best of his abilities for his new team. 

Youngster Arkam Shaikh is expected to be the first-choice left cover for Gujarat Giants. Young Chang Ko will be partnering with Baldev Singh to form the right side of the defence. 

Weaknesses of the team

No one to lead the line in the raiding department 

The lack of an established lead raider could be the stumbling block for Gujarat Giants in the upcoming season. Gujarat seems to have failed to capitalize on the purse amount they went into the auction. They retained their superstar youngster from last season – Rakesh Sangroya – ahead of the PKL auction. After letting Rakesh Narwal go, a lot would depend on Sangroya's shoulders. This could be the make-or-break season for him. The homecoming of 31-year-old Chandran Ranjit is certainly a talking point for the Gujarat fans. Ranjit has only been the support raider for all the teams he has played in the past. 

In addition, the Giants have retained the do-or-die specialist Mahendra Rajput by exercising the RTM Card. South Korean raider Dong Geon Lee, is acquired by the Gujarat  Giants to maintain the foreign quota of the PKL. He is a swift raider but does not have the PKL experience, despite having played for various teams in the past.

The Gujarat outfit also brought back Pardeep Kumar for Rs. 25 lakhs. Pardeep came in handy for them towards the end of last season and impressed the fans with his performances against Haryana Steelers. Both the fans and the coach would be looking forward to the same kind of heroics from Pardeep a lot more regularly this season.

They missed out on signing “A-Category list” raiders. The giants won the auction battle for superstar Pardeep Narwal but lost him to UP Yoddha, who exercised the Right to Match card.

After missing out on Pardeep, coach Ram Mehar decided to go after Ghuman Singh – a youngster who thrived under him at Patna Pirates last season. Once again, Patna missed out on a targeted player, this time to U Mumba.

Players to watch out for

Ram Mehar Singh has always been influential in developing young talents. The likes of Pardeep Narwal back in season 3, and Ghuman Singh in season 8, are just a few examples. Rakesh Sangroya and youngster Arkam Shaikh could be the breakthrough stars for Gujarat Giants this season.

Arkam is a young all-rounder who plays as a left cover. He has caught the eyes of fans and experts after a heroic domestic campaign with Maharashtra. 

Akram, and his state-captain Shankar Gadai, will be aiming for the headlines as they make their PKL Debut this season for the Gujarat Giants.