The PKL 2023 is a little less than a month away and all the teams are busy preparing for the big tournament that starts on December 2. After the PKL auction, the look of every team has changed for good, and have made some decent additions to their roster. For now, without even a match being played in Pro Kabaddi League 2023, some teams are looking stronger than others. InsideSport takes a look at all PKL squads and rates them out of them, just on the basis of individuals.
Bengal Warriors (9/10)
Full Squad: Maninder Singh, Shrikant Jadhav, Suyog Gaikar, Guhan Raju, Parshant Kumar, Aslam Saja, Vishwas Gouda, Chai Ming Chang, Maharudra Garje, Nitin Kumar, Akshay Bodake, Shubham Shinde, Vaibhav Garje, Akshay Kumar, Aditya Shinde, Shreyas Umbardand, Dipak Shinde, Nitin Rawal, Akshay Bhoir
The presence of veteran Maninder Singh and Parshant Kumar makes them a formidable unit. Shrikant Jadhav could be an excellent second raider for the team, while Shubham Shinde will be the most experienced in the defence. They also have the presence of all-rounder Nitin Rawal, one of the best in the league. What they might miss is a stalwart in defence, which could be a problem.
Bengaluru Bulls (6/10)
Full Squad: Bharat, Aman, Yash Hooda, Saurabh Nandal, Neeraj Narwal, Akshit, Aditya Powar, Parteek, Arulnanthababu, Vishal, Vikash Kandola, Md. Liton Ali, Piotr Pamulak
Bulls have experimented with their squad in the Pro Kabaddi 2023. They have a relatively young, but sound squad with raiders like Vikash Kandola, and Bharat. Saurabh Nandal will be the lead defender in the team, but what they lack is a towering figure in the squad. They might not be the best team on paper in PKL 2023.
Dabang Delhi (7/10)
Full Squad: Naveen Kumar, Vijay, Manjeet, Anish Narwal, Suraj Panwar, Himmat Antil, Manu, Ashish, Yogesh, Sunil, Ashu Malik, Meetu, Felix Li, Yuvraj Pandeya
Under a new skipper Naveen Kumar, and a new coach, Delhi will have a lot to prove in the Pro Kabaddi League 2023. All-rounder Vijay Malik gives them solid balance, while Meetu only adds to their raiding prowess. In defence they have got stalwart Sunil, who would lead a young defensive unit. All in all, they have a unit that can go far in the tournament.
Gujarat Giants (8/10)
Full Squad: Manuj, Sonu, Parteek Dahiya, Rohan Singh, Rakesh, Nitin, Fazel Atrachali, Rohit Gulia, Mohammad Nabibakhsh, Arkam Shaikh, Sombir
Giants will rely heavily on their Iranian duo of Fazel Atrachali and Mohammad Nabibakhsh, who are the biggest names in kabaddi from the nation. Their partnership alone will instill fear in the opposition, along with Ram Mehar Singh’s coaching. For this side to come good, skipper Fazel will have to deliver the goods in Pro Kabaddi League.
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Haryana Steelers (6/10)
Full Squad: K Prapanjan, Vinay, Naveen, Harsh, Monu, Sunny, Jaideep, Mohit, Shivam Patare, Hardeep Ranbit, NS Jayasoorya, Vishal Tate, Siddharth Desai, Chandran Ranjit, Hasan Balbool, Ghanshyam Roka Magar, Rahul Sethpal
They must consider themselves lucky to get Siddharth Desai in the PKL 2023 auction. But the latter needs to be fully fit to deliver. Apart from that Chandran Ranjit, who struggled last season, needs to fire. On paper, they are one of the weaker sides.
Jaipur Pink Panthers (7/10)
Full Squad: Sunil Kumar, Ajith Kumar V, Reza Mirbagheri, Bhavani Rajput, Sahul Kumar, Arjun Deshwal, Ankush, Ashish, Devank, Abhishek KS, Abhimanyu Raguvanshi, Abhijeet Malik, Amir Hossein Mohammadmaleki, Rahul Chaudhari
This is one team that didn’t have much to do at the PKL auction as they had retained their core players. The defending champs has a strong team once again, and it needs to be seen if they can deliver again.
Patna Pirates (5/10)
Full Squad: Sachin, Neeraj Kumar, Thiyagarajan Yuvraj, Naveen Sharma, Ranjit Venkatramana Naik, Anuj Kumar, Manish, Kunal Mehta, Sudhakar M, Abinand Subash, Manjeet
Patna Pirates doesn’t have any star players in their roster, which could or could not work in their favor. For now, the team looks inexperienced in both the departments and it would be a surprise if they reach the playoffs.
Puneri Paltan (8/10)
Full Squad: Abinesh Nadarajan, Gaurav Khatri, Sanket Sawant, Pankaj Mohite, Badal Taqdir, Aditya Tushar Shinde, Aslam Mustafa Inamdar, Mohit Goyat, Akash Santosh Shinde, Aditya Tushar Shinde, Tushar Dattaray Adhavade, Vaibhav Kamble, Dadaso Pujari, Mohammadreza Shadloui Chiyaneh, Vahid RezaEimehr
This squad exudes confidence just by the looks of it. To have all-rounders of the caliber of Aslam Inamdar and Mohammadreza Shadloui, you can’t ask for more. The team will of course centre around them, and it would be interesting to see what they can achieve with a set of youngsters.
Tamil Thalaivas (6.5/10)
Full Squad: Aditya Ashok Pawar, Sagar, Himanshu, M Abishek, Himanshu, Jatin, Narender, Sahil, Mohit, Aashish, Vishal Chahal, Ronak, Nitesh Kumar, Nitin Singh, Amirhossein Bastami, Mohammadreza Kaboudrahangi
They have a strong defensive unit in Sagar and Bastami, but raiding could be a problem for them going forward into the tournament. They would be the underdogs once again.
Telugu Titans (8/10)
Full Squad: Parvesh Bhainswal, Rajnish, Mohit, Nitin, Vinay, Omkar Narayan Patil, Praful Sudam Zaware, Sanjeevi S, Ankit, Pawan Kumar Sehrawat, Hamid Mirzaei Nader, Milad Jabbari
Finally, after a long time in the Pro Kabaddi League, the Titans have a strong squad, that can make the playoffs. Pawan Sehrawat can be the biggest difference in them winning or losing. They have a decent defensive unit as well.
U Mumba (9/10)
Full Squad: Surinder Singh, Jai Bhagwan, Heidarali Ekrami, Rinku, Shivansh Thakur, Pranay Vinay Rane, Rupesh, Sachin, Shivam, Mukilan Shanmugam, Gokul AK, Bittu, Sombir Goswami, Girish Ernak, Mahender Singh, Guman Singh, Amirmohammad Zafardanesh, Alireza Mirzaeian
They might just have the best, all-round squad going into the Pro Kabaddi this season. Surinder Singh, along with Jai Bhagwan in defence and Amirmohammad Zafardanesh and Alireza Mirzaeian in raiding, forms a potent team.
UP Yoddhas (7/10)
Full Squad: Pardeep Narwal, Nitesh Kumar, Sumit, Surender Gill, Ashu Singh, Anil Kumar, Mahipal, Hitesh, Gagana Gowda, Shivam Choudhary, Vijay Malik, Samuel Wanjala Wafula
UP has put in place a decent team. Pardeep Narwal will be useful as always, to go with all-rounder Surender. Nitesh will be important member of the defensive team. They could make the playoffs as well.
