PKL 9: Jaipur Pink Panthers retain Arjun Deshwal ahead of auction

Arjun Deshwal was bought for Rs 96 lakhs by Jaipur Pink Panthers in the Season 8 auction.

Jaipur Pink Panthers, the inaugural champions of the Pro Kabaddi League in 2014, came up with their list of retained players ahead of the Season 9 auction of the PKL. They have retained Arjun Deshwal and Sahul Kumar from elite player category and Deepak R from the new young player category.

Let’s take a look at whether the Panthers have taken the right decision by retaining these three players or not. Here are the performances of these three players in the previous edition:

Arjun Deshwal

Deshwal played in 22 games in the previous edition and showed everyone why he became the first choice for Jaipur’s retention. He earned 267 raid points last season with a strike rate of 63%. His phenomenal performance included six Super Raids and 16 Super 10s. By retaining a player like Deshwal, Jaipur Pink Panthers should not be too worried about their Raid points.

Sahul Kumar

Elite player of Jaipur Pink Panthers, Sahul Kumar had a good last season for Jaipur. He earned 45 tackle points in the 18 matches he played last season. His power-packed performance included two Super Tackles and one High-Five. His tackle success rate was 44% which was impressive.

The Panthers stood at eighth position last season with 10 victories out of 22 games. They lost 10 matches which was not a good sign for them in Season 8. Retaining star defenders like Sahul could help them perform better in the upcoming season.

Deepak R

The Panthers retained Deepak R in the new young player category. Though his performance was below average last season, his ability to put effort into every point can’t be ignored. Retaining Deepak was not a bad idea for the Panthers, as he earned 16 tackle points in the 14 games and played with a tackle success rate of 22%.