Players Dabang Delhi should retain for the upcoming season of PKL

The season eight champions have several players that deserve to continue for the team.

Dabang Delhi made a bit of history by winning the eighth season of the Pro Kabaddi League. By doing so, the outfit became winners of the competition for the first time ever. The final saw them come up against Patna Pirates and the tie ended 37-36 in their favour. The secret to Delhi’s success was a collective effort from each of their department, whether it was raiding or defending.

There was a great balance of youth and experience in the team that gave them the edge. Winning the championship was even sweeter as Dabang Delhi failed in the final during the seventh season of the PKL. The outfit showed a tendency to learn from its mistakes and there was no stopping them from winning the title in the end.

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Naveen Kumar was the focal point of the team’s title-winning campaign. The raider was impressive from the start but had to take a backseat during the middle of the season due to knee issues. During that time, Vijay Malik and Neeraj Narwal stepped forward for the team. Apart from this, Manjeet Chillar showed his class in defence and used his experience well. Despite Naveen’s major contribution, Dabang Delhi showed that they were not entirely dependent on the Naveen “Express”. 

There were many players that helped Delhi emerge as winners in the end. However, reaching the top and remaining on top are different. Now, the outfit must carefully strategise and decide on which players to retain for the forthcoming PKL season. Let us take a look at the players that should be retained by the defending champions:

Naveen Kumar, Vijay Malik and Neeraj should be retained as raiders

There should be no doubts about retaining the likes of Naveen Kumar and Vijay Malik for the upcoming season of Pro Kabaddi League. Naveen’s record-breaking start to PKL since his debut saw him score 210 points in 17 fixtures during the last term. He also executed 12 Super-10s across the season in an impressive fashion. 

On the other hand, Vijay Malik saved his best performances for the playoffs. He scored 162 points in 23 matches in the previous season, giving good support to Naveen in raiding. Neeraj Narwal was also impressive as he scored 47 points in 19 matches. The raider has a lot of promise if given more opportunities. As such, all three players from the raiding department should be retained. 

Ashu Malik is a good option in defence

In defence, Ashu Malik is the sole individual who should be retained by Dabang Delhi. While the outfit had a lot of experienced defenders, they did not deliver as expected. Having said that, Malik left a good impression as he collected 59 points from 22 appearances with a tackle rate of 36%.

Dabang Delhi had the likes of Joginder Narwal, Manjeet Chillar and Jeeva Kumar. However, the team might not retain them and look to add more players from the auction. The defending champions must reinforce the defensive side of their team in the next edition.

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