Pro Kabaddi: Jaipur Pink Panthers dependent on fiery raiding trio-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 Jaipur Pink Panthers line up for the upcoming season.

READ: Pro Kabaddi: Schedule for season 9 announced

Last Season Review

Jaipur Pink Panthers had a very close finish just outside of play-off place last season but they were under-par the whole season with the kind of team they had assembled.

Despite having the likes of Deepak Niwas Hooda and Sandeep Dhul, they faltered and dealt with many issues, captaincy being one of them.

Arjun Deshwal was the bright light for them during the season as he finished with the second highest raid point in the season behind Pawan Sehrawat.

PKL 9- Squad Changes

Jaipur Pink Panthers released most of their squad and kept Arjun Deshwal and Sahul Kumar from the starting 7 of last season.

Youngsters Deepak, Devank, Ankush, Ashish and Abhishek were retained.

Jaipur started well in auctions with the purchase of V Ajith Kumar who scored 159 raid points for U Mumba and is an experienced player.

Another good addition to the squad is Rahul Chaudari, the first poster boy of Indian Kabaddi who is waiting to make a comeback. The experienced with 968 raid points in his career will be happy with the game time.

Former Gujarat Giants captain Sunil Kumar is another high-profile addition to the squad. Jaipur bought him for 90 lakhs making him the highest-paid Indian defender in the auction.

Youngsters such as Bhavani Rajput, Lucky Sharma, Nitin Chandel were added along with foreigners Reza Mirbagheri and Woosan KO.

Jaipur Pink Panthers Full Squad-

Retained Players: Arjun Deshwal, Deepak, Devank, Ankush, Sahul Kumar, Ashish, and Abhishek KS.

Auction Buys: V Ajith Kumar, Sunil Kumar, Woosan KO, Reza Mirbagheri, Lucky Sharma, Nitin Panwar, Bhavani Rajput, Navneet, Rahul Chaudhari, Nitin Chandel, and Rahul Dhanware.

PKL 9 Preview- Strength and Weakness

Strength- Jaipur has assembled a fiery raiding unit with Arjun Deshwal, V Ajith Kumar and Rahul Chaudhari. The raiding unit has a mix and balance of experience and youth.

The three players are highly skilled. Rahul being the master is a menace with his toe touches and running hand touch. Ajith and Arjun belong to a high-flying generation of raiders.

The experience of Sahul and Sunil is the defence will be crucial for Jaipur Pink Panthers.

Weakness- Two big holes are there in this Jaipur squad, one of them is a lack of experience in defence.

Inexperienced defenders are prone to more mistakes and Jaipur will be fielding two of them. Sunil and Sahul will have to take the onus to guide their young partners.

Another issue is Jaipur has no all-rounders. They have to be totally reliant on their specialists in both departments and will miss the impact an all-rounder can make.

Jaipur Pink Panthers Predicted 7 for PKL 9

Sahul Kumar (Right Corner), Ankush Rathee (Left Corner), Rahul Chaudhari (Right In), Arjun Deshwal (Left In), Sunil Kumar (Right Cover), Reza Mirbhageri (Left Cover) and V. Ajith Kumar (Center).