Pro Kabaddi: Gujarat Giants look bleak without a strong defence-Preview, Squad, All you need to know

India's second most watched league Pro Kabaddi League is back with its 9th edition from October 7th, 2022.

After an auction which saw records breaking left, right and centre, all the 12 franchises have a new look from the change in players to coaching personnel.

We take a look at how Gujarat Giants line up for the upcoming season.

READ: Pro Kabaddi: Schedule for season 9 announced

Last Season Review

Gujarat Giants had a decent season given they reached the playoffs and lost to Bengaluru Bulls in the eliminator.

With a solid defence but no proper raiding unit, Gujarat witnessed the rise of Rakesh HS and Pardeep as star raiders for them.

PKL 9- Squad Changes

Gujarat Giants went for an overhaul this season after breaking ties with coach Manpreet Singh who guided them to two finals in the first two seasons.

They signed the experienced Ram Mehar Singh as their coach and released all the big names from Sunil to Parvesh Bhainswal.

They retained Rakesh HS and all new youngsters.

Coming with the highest purse in the auction, it was expected that they will go for big names but surprisingly they failed to sign any category 'A' star.

Gujarat Giants ended their auction with 54 lakhs still in the purse.

They got experienced Chandran Ranjit, Dong Geon Lee and Young Chang Ko in the auction.

Gujarat invested good money in defence re-uniting the former Bengal Warriors corner duo of Baldev Singh and Rinku Narwal. They bought young defenders Sourav Gulia, Manuj, Ujjval Singh and Kapil.

Giants used the FBM card to bring back Mahendra Ganesh Rajput and Pardeep Kumar.

Gujarat Giants Full Squad-

Retained Players: Sonu, Rakesh, Gaurav Chhikhara, Sonu Singh, Sohit Malik, Parteek Dahiya, and Rohan Singh.

Auction Buys: Chandran Ranjit, Pardeep Kumar, Dong Geon Lee, Young Chang Ko, Arkam Shaikh, Shankar Bhimraj Gadai, Rinku Narwal, Sourav Gulia, Sandeep Kandola, Vinod Kumar, Baldev Singh, Sawin, Purna Singh, Mahendra Ganesh Rajput, Ujjval Singh, Kapil, and Manuj.

PKL 9 Preview- Strength and Weakness

Strength- Gujarat Giants have a good raiding unit with the experience of Chandran Ranjit, Mahendra Rajput and the youth of Rakesh and Pardeep but they lack a leader.

Gujarat Giants will be hoping for miracles from their coach Ram Mehar Singh who turned a young Patna Pirates into a formidable unit last season.

Weakness- This Gujarat Giants looks nowhere close to the previous teams from last season.

Gujarat has been one of the best defensive teams in the league always boasting of the great corner and cover duos.

The defence right looks okay on the paper with only a recognizable pair of Baldev Singh and Rinku Narwal, youngsters like Sourav Gulia, Ujjval Singh and Manuj need to step up.

The raiding unit looks better but lacks a superstar to lead them. With this team, Gujarat will either do miracles or will finish in the lower half.

Gujarat Giants Predicted 7 for PKL 9

Baldev Singh (Right Corner), Rinku Narwal (Left Corner), Rakesh HS (Right In), Chandran Ranjit (Left In), Sourav Gulia (Right Cover), Ujjval Singh (Left Cover) and Mahendra Rajput (Center).