PKL 9: Dabang Delhi eye title defence with strength of youth brigade

Season 8 winners will look to win two consecutive seasons.

Dabang Delhi is busy in its preparations for the upcoming season of Pro Kabaddi League (PKL). The team selected some of the best players during the auction last month. This time the team has expressed more confidence in young players. Dabang Delhi retained star raider Naveen Kumar before the auction of PKL-9. Apart from this, the team retained Vijay Malik, who performed well last season.

At the same time, during the auction, they selected players like Amit Hooda, Sandeep Dhul and Ashu Malik. Coach Krishna Kumar Hooda is confident that his youth brigade will be able to become champions once again. Before the start of the season, we tell you the strength and weaknesses of Dabang Delhi and what can be expected from them this season.

The strength of the team

Naveen 'Express' can once again pick up speed

Dabang Delhi's biggest strength is their main young raider, Naveen Kumar. Looking at the kind of performances Naveen Kumar has given in the last two seasons, this time too the team will have high hopes from him. Naveen Kumar is a raider who can single-handedly win a game. He has so far scored 690 points in 62 matches in PKL. He has played only three seasons so far but has been included in the list of top-10 raiders during this period. Last season, Naveen missed a few matches due to injury, but despite this, he had 210 points in his name in 17 matches. He will be the biggest face of the team this season again and most of the raiding will be on his shoulders.

Sandeep Dhul can do wonders in defense

Sandeep Dhul, famous for his ankle hold, will be seen playing for Dabang Delhi this time. He had two good seasons for Jaipur Pink Panthers. Sandeep Dhul has the confidence and he can prove to be very important for the team in defense. Last season, he scored 53 points in 19 matches. That is why the team will depend a lot on him and once he gets into the rhythm, then it will be very difficult to stop him. 

Weakness of the side: Lack of experience 

Dabang Delhi's team is young this time and does not have as many experienced players as last season. In defense, Amit Hooda played only 2 matches last season. It may take time for them to find their rhythm. Apart from this, Vishal Lather also did not play much and Ravi Kumar is making a comeback so in that case, the team has to depend only on Sandeep Dhull until others find their groove.

Talking about raiding, Vijay Malik had done well in the last season, but how much support he can give to Naveen for a long time, will be a matter to be seen. The team is more dependent on Naveen Kumar. This time there is no big player in the team to guide Naveen. They may miss the guidance that they were getting for the last two seasons from the likes of Manjeet Chhillar. 

All eyes will be on these players

The defending champions have some players to watch out for. Naveen Kumar, Sandeep Dhull, Amit Hooda and Vijay Malik are four such players who can play an important role in taking Delhi to its destination this time. If the team has to win the title once again, then it will be necessary for these players to perform well.