PKL 9: Prashant Kumar Rai joins Gujarat Giants camp

He captained Patna Pirates last season.

Experienced raider Prashanth Kumar Rai has joined the Gujarat Giants camp ahead of the Pro Kabaddi League (PKL) season 9. He was unsold in the auctions held last month. 

He was a vital member of the Patna Pirates last season where he led the team to their 4th final under the tutelage of coach Ram Mehar Singh. The coach has since moved to the Giants and it appears that he wanted Rai to be part of the franchise. Currently, the team is busy in its preparations for season 9 which is less than a month away. 

The raider has been playing in the league ever since it began in 2014. He played for the Telugu Titans for his first three seasons, serving as Rahul Chaudhary and Sukesh Hegde's backup. Rai played in 15 games for the Telugu Titans in season 2 and scored 54 points. He played for Dabang Delhi in the fourth season of PKL, but he struggled to repeat his success there.

Prashanth Kumar Rai then played for the Haryana Steelers in his fifth season, where he scored 80 points in 16 games, and was a key contributor to helping them reach the playoffs. In that year, Kumar had three super 10s. His best performance came in season 6 for UP Yoddhas' Who had paid a large sum to acquire his services. He scored 147 points in 21 games and crossed the 100 raid points mark in a season for the first time. 

He played as a support raider in the last season

In the last season, he led a relatively inexperienced Patna Pirates. He was the captain of the side but he was used more as a backup raider to Guman Singh and Sachin Tanwar. In 23 matches, he scored 96 raid points and perfectly played the role of support raider. If he plays at Gujarat Giants, he won't be expected to play the role of the main raider but would be expected to assist young Rakesh and Pradeep and share his invaluable experience with them.