PKL 9: Jaipur Pink Panthers full squad for upcoming season

Raider Arjun Deshwal was retained from the elite player category.

Jaipur Pink Panthers have been one of the top teams in the Pro Kabaddi League. They won the inaugural edition of the PKL back in 2014 with a victory over U Mumba in the final. After that, the Panthers were unable to bring back the magic they created in the first season. This time, the franchise will be hoping to get back on track with the players they bought in the auction.

Let us showcase all the players who are a part of the Jaipur Pink Panthers for season 9 of the Pro Kabaddi League:

Raiders

Arjun Deshwal (Elite Player Category)

Jaipur Pink Panthers retained the services of Arjun Deshwal from the elite player category. Raider like Deshwal had an excellent last season with 267 raid points, including Six Super Raids and 16 Super 10s. The Panthers will be hoping to get a similar performance from him in the upcoming season.

Ajith V Kumar (Category A Domestic Player)

This was one of the top picks from the Jaipur Pink Panthers as he got the services of Ajith for just Rs 66 lakhs for the upcoming season. They wanted to add a top raider to their squad, and getting Ajith is probably the biggest deal they cracked during the auction. He, alongside Arjun Deshwal, can be dangerous for the opponents.

Rahul Chaudhari (Category C Domestic Player)

It’s heartbreaking to see a champion player like Rahul Chaudhari being ignored by the franchises. However, the Pink Panthers bought him for his base price of 10 lakh. Rahul is a player of the highest quality who has all the techniques to his name. His experience would certainly help the Panthers improve their past performance.

Devank (Franchise Nominated New Young Player)

Jaipur Pink Panthers have added another raider to their squad under the category of franchise nominated NYP in the form of Devank. Young players like Devank will look to impress in whatever opportunities they get this season.

Bhavani Rajput (Category C Domestic Player)

Bhavani was released by Tamil Thalaivas and signed by Jaipur Pink Panthers for Rs 10.4 lakhs. He is capable of raiding at crucial moments, as we witnessed in the previous season. Bhavani earned 50 raid points during Season 8 and will look to improve his stats in the coming season while playing for the Panthers.

Navneet (Category C Domestic Player)

Navneet will join the squad as a raider for the Pink Panthers. He was bought by the franchise for his base price of Rs 10 lakhs. Just like Devank, he will also look to grab attention in the upcoming season with his performance.

Nitin Panwar (Category C Domestic Player)

Nitin was a part of UP Yoddhas in the previous edition but only got to play one game. With the Jaipur Pink Panthers having him in their squad, he would expect the franchise to give him games to showcase his raiding skills. Panwar can also play the role of a defender and can be a key player with the right cover.

Defenders

Sunil Kumar (Category B Domestic Player)

Just like Ajith, Sunil Kumar was also one of the best picks for the Jaipur Pink Panthers. He was bought for a whopping Rs 90 lakhs. Sunil has extensive defensive experience and can help the Panthers with their defensive issues.

Woosan Ko (Overseas Player)

This was a good pick by the Panthers as they got the services of Woosan Ko for just Rs 10 lakhs. Woosan is an overseas defender who can be a great support for the leading raiders of the team.

Abhishek KS (Franchise Nominated New Young Player)

This new young player is another defender the Panthers have in their squad. Abhishek was bought from the franchise's nominated young player category. It is not certain that he is going to be in the top seven, but looking at the number of games, he must be ready to showcase his skills on the mat.

Sahul Kumar (Elite Player Category)

The retained defender, Sahul Kumar, is from the Elite Category and is one of the major faces of the Jaipur Pink Panthers alongside Arjun Deshwal and Ajith V Kumar. Sahul had a fair last season for Jaipur, collecting 45 tackle points with a success rate of 44%. His talent is far greater than these numbers, and he hopes to gain more attention this season.

Deepak R (Existing New Young Player)

Deepak earned just 16 tackle points in the previous edition of the PKL, but the franchise still trusted him to gain his form back in the upcoming season. This is going to be a high time for the defender to prove his worth. His tackle success rate was just 22%, and he would be looking to increase this rate by a huge margin.

Ankush & Aashish (Franchise Nominated New Young Player)

Two more players, Ankush and Ashish, are from the franchise's nominated young player category. The Pink Panthers have more defenders than the raiders in their squad. So, looking back from this point, having multiple options would be an advantage for the franchise. Giving opportunities to young talent is surely going to help the team.

Riza Mirbhageri (Overseas Player)

There is unconditional love when it comes to Iranian Kabaddi players and PKL auctions. They are always on the cards of every franchise. Riza Mirbhageri was bought by the Pink Panthers for a handsome amount of Rs 26.8 lakhs. It was a three-way bid for this Iranian defender between Gujarat Giants, Haryana Steelers and UP Yoddhas, but Jaipur Pink Panthers went for him when the others pulled out.

Lucky Sharma (Category C Domestic Player)

The boy from Jammu will be part of Jaipur Pink Panthers for the upcoming season. The Panthers easily bought Lucky for his base price of Rs. 10 lakhs and added one more defender to their squad.

Nitin Chandel (Category D Domestic Player)

Right corner defender Nitin Chandel is going to be a part of the PKL for the first time. While some prominent names went for their base price, this man went for an interesting Rs. 19.7 lakhs. The amount of around Rs 20 lakhs for a category D player is a massive thing for Kabaddi. This season, the Himachal Pradesh native has a lot to prove.

Rahul Gorakh Dhanawade (Category C Domestic Player)

An all-rounder for Rs 10 lakhs? Well, Jaipur Pink Panthers successfully bought Rahul Dhanawade for his base price to add a valuable all-rounder to their team. It will be interesting to see how Rahul performs this season.

Here is the complete squad:

Ajith V Kumar, Arjun Deshwal, Rahul Chaudhari, Devank, Bhavani Rajput, Navneet, Nitin Panwar, Sunil Kumar, Woosan Ko, Abhishek KS, Ankush, Ashish, Deepak, Sahul Kumar, Reza Mirbagheri, Lucky Sharma, Nitin Chandel, Rahul Gorakh Dhanawade.