PKL 8: A look at players who should be retained by Haryana Steelers

The team have a talented set of individuals who can be retained for next season.

The performance of Haryana Steelers in the Pro Kabaddi League (PKL) Season 8 was pretty much varied. They missed out on making it to the playoffs by a close margin. The Haryana Steelers played 22 matches, out of which they won 10 and lost nine, with their three encounters ending in a tie. They faced defeats in three of the last five matches and lost the chance to qualify for the playoffs.

If we analyze the overall performance of the Steelers, then the team had a good mix of young and experienced players. Despite this, however, there was a lack of coordination. The team had a wide variety of raiders and defenders in theiir unit and also looked strong on-paper. Some of their matches became the benchmark, while others were worth forgetting.

After failing to qualify for the playoffs in the eighth season, Haryana Steelers are now in a headlock as to which players they should retain for next season. There were many players in the team last season who impressed a lot with their performances and can be retained for next term. Let’s have a look at the players the Steelers should retain for the upcoming PKL season.

Vikas Kandola, Meetu Sharm & Ashish must be given another chance

Haryana Steelers must consider giving another chance to Vikash Kandola, Meetu Sharma and Vinay in the raiding unit. If we talk about Vikash Kandola, he had a tremendous performance in the raiding department for the team last season. He scored 180 points in a total of 22 matches. The raider was also included in the list of top 10 raiders of the season. Having Vikas in the side is surely going to be fruitful for the team.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q0xQ37jaxIo

Apart from this, young raider Ashish also showed his strength and got 79 points in 15 matches. The raider showed great potential in most the matches and could prove to be a valuable asset for the team in the upcoming season. He just needs more chances, as he has the necessary skills to be one of the stars of the tournament.

At the same time, Meetu Sharma was also impressive in his performances. Playing his maiden PKL season, it was expected that the player would perform well and he stood up to those expectations. He scored 75 points in 16 matches. The young raider performed extremely well during tough situations for the team. These situations would have surely acted as a booster for the player.

Mohit and Jaideep should be kept intact in the defensive unit

If we talk about the defensive unit of the Haryana Steelers, then it didn’t go well for them in the last season. Veteran defender Surender Nada did good at the start of the season, but lost his momentum altogether. His biggest mistake throughout the season was that he kept going for advance tackles over and over again. However, Mohit and Jaideep were undoubtedly impressive. Both these players played very well. The team performed exceptionally well in some matches due to their top performances.

Jaideep played 22 matches during the season and scored 66 points. He hit five high-fives last season and was one of the top four defenders of the tournament. On the other hand, if we talk about Mohit, he got 42 points in just 22 matches. In such a situation, the pair should be retained for the next PKL season as well. The combination of Jaideep and Mohit has become very good for Haryana Steelers and they should take advantage of their synergy and retain these players.

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