Why Haryana Steelers should retain Jaideep Dahiya for PKL Season 9

The player managed to become one of the top defenders of the league in his debut season .

Haryana Steelers performed way below expectations in Pro Kabaddi League Season 8. The team could not make it to the playoffs. Steelers played a total of 22 matches in PKL Season 8 out of which they won 10, lost nine and tied three matches. They lost three of the last five matches, henceforth, losing their place in the playoffs. 

Haryana Steelers may not have had a good season but a few of the squad members. One such player who impressed everyone was left corner defender Jaideep Dahiya, who achieved great success in the defense and stunned many big raiders with his excellent moves. 

Nobody expected such performance from Jaideep during the onset of the season but he scored 66 points in 22 matches. He hit five high-fives and was one of the top four defenders of the league. 

Dream debut season

Jaideep Dahiya plays in the left corner position in the defense. He made his debut in PKL Season 8 and hit the ground running. He is a solid defender and has a knack for producing important tackle points at the most crucial times. Jaideep's body is quite muscular and he benefits from it while defending. Whenever he goes to tackle a raider, it becomes very difficult for him to get out of his grip. He uses his body power brilliantly. 

Weaknesses

In addition to the excellent performance on the mat, Jaideep has some shortcomings too which call for attention. It has often been seen that he went for advance tackle many times, due to which he had to bear the brunt. That's why his tackle success rate is 50-50. In PKL season 8, he made a total of 120 tackles out of which 66 tackles were successful. He had three successful tackles per match. 

Jaideep has to pay attention to this drawback especially if he wants his name on the list of top stars in defense like Manjit Chhillar and Fazal Atrachali. Average is very important in any match and if you have more unsuccessful tackles than successful tackles, it will only hurt the team. 

Why Steelers should retain Jaideep

Jaideep Dahiya also formed a lethal partnership with Mohit Nandal in the Haryana Steelers defence. Due to Jaideep's impeccable performaces, it also helped Mohit scored 42 points in 22 matches. Haryana Steelers should retain Jaideep Dahiya just to continue his partnership with Nandal.

Jaideep would also have had the experience of playing for Haryana and coach Rakesh Kumar would have come to know about his game very well. In such a situation, he can work on his shortcomings before the upcoming PKL season and make himself a better defender. 

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