The Season 1 Champions will play their first match against UP Yoddhas.
Jaipur Pink Panthers after winning the title in the inaugural edition of PKL failed to live up to expectations. After the exploits of Season 1, Jaipur was only able to qualify for the playoffs once. In the past two seasons, they had good performances in the patches but couldn’t show the required consistency in the 22-game league.
Take the example of seasons 7 and 8 where they finished 7th and 8th respectively. They lost the Season 8 playoff spot by just 3 points. This season, they will be looking to clear the first hurdle which is to qualify for the playoffs.
But do they have the required asset for that?
Defense
Amit Hooda and Sandeep Dhull were the backbone of the defense. Amit Hooda first trained in the PKL while playing for the Jaipur Pink Panthers. Then he went on to play for Tamil Talaivas, again making a return to his parent team. He formed a good combo with Sandeep Dhull but both were released.
Sunil Kumar will take on most of the responsibility in their absence, combined with Sahul Kumar who had a good season last year with over 40 tackle points. Alongside the Indians, Jaipur has recruited Iranian defender Riza Mirbhageri who, like the other Iranians, will seek to shine in his first season.
Raids
Arjun Deshwal caused a stir in Jaipur last season, scoring 268 raid points and finishing 2nd in the Raiding section behind Pawan Sehrawat. Deepak Niwas Hooda had given him good support in raids and defense. In Season 9, they lack a quality all-rounder who can contribute at crucial times.
In season 9, the addition of Ajith Kumar will take on the burden of Arjun Deshwal. Ajith after his stellar debut for Tamil Talaivas has been on the radar of many teams with the skills he possesses. Last season, playing for U Mumba, he formed a good raid combo with Abhishek Singh.
Fazel Athrachali would sometimes bet on Ajith Kumar who started as a secondary raider and then slowly turned into a main position. With Jaipur Pink Panthers he will have a similar role to play as a secondary raider and in the absence of Arjun Deshwal will take over most of the raid.
When the Bengal Warriors won the PKL 7, they had a quality all-round player from Iran Mohammed Nabibaksh who was their main player after Maninder Singh. Having a quality all-rounder benefits the team the most, but there aren’t many all-rounders to choose from.
Apart from Deepak Niwas Hooda and Nabibaksh, few players have established themselves as all-rounders except for a few in the previous season like Sandeep Narwal and Manjit Chillar who couldn’t continue dominating in both departments for long. Jaipur should have tried to retain Deepak for his abilities.
Current season
Jaipur Pink Panthers take on UP Yoddhas in PKL Season 9 Opener. Winning the opening game in any league will help teams gain momentum and get off to a good start. UP Yodhas have played well over the past few seasons with the deadly left defender and right back combo of Sumit and Nitesh Kumar.
In the raid, Surendar Kumar Gill had taken everyone by surprise with his performance last season by becoming the main raider and taking control of Pardeep Narwal and Shrikanth Jadhav. The raider recently helped Goa qualify for the quarter-finals of the National Kabaddi Senior Championships.
Pardeep Narwal and Nitin Tomar will help Gill in the raiding department. Pardeep Narwal if the return to form cannot be stopped by plenty of defenders and Nitin Tomar will look to prove himself with the opportunities presented.
Jaipur will have their work cut out for them in their opener against experienced side UP Yoddhas. On paper, UP look like the favorite with the whole department covered but Jaipur will use the limited resources they have.
Jaipur Pink Panthers Calendar
Date – Time – Setting
October 7 – 9:30 p.m. – Jaipur Pink Panthers vs. UP Yodhhas
October 9 – 7:30 p.m. – Jaipur Pink Panthers vs Patna Pirates
October 14 – 8:30 p.m. – Jaipur Pink Panthers vs Haryana Steelers
October 15 – 7:30 p.m. – Jaipur Pink Panthers vs Gujarat Giants
October 18 – 7:30 p.m. – Jaipur Pink Panthers vs Bengal Warriors
October 22 – 8:30pm – Jaipur Pink Panthers vs Telugu Titans
October 25 – 7:30 p.m. – Jaipur Pink Panthers vs Puneri Paltan
October 28 – 7:30 p.m. – Jaipur Pink Panthers vs Tamil Talaivas
October 30 – 7:30 p.m. – Jaipur Pink Panthers vs Bengaluru Bulls
November 4 – 8:30 p.m. – Jaipur Pink Panthers vs. Dabang Delhi
November 7 – 7:30 p.m. – Jaipur Pink Panthers vs U Mumba
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