Pro Kabaddi (PKL) teams have come out with their list of retained players ahead of the eighth season of the tournament. A total of 59 players were retained across all three categories with 22 in the Elite Retained Players (ERP), six in the Retained Young Players (RYP), and 31 in the New Young Players (NYP) category as teams begin assembling their squads for the upcoming season slated to take place in December.
The non-retained players including all squad players from PKL seasons six and seven will go under the hammer at the auctions in Mumbai from 29 to 31 August. Defending champions Bengal Warriors have retained their captain Maninder Singh along with one of the main heroes of the PKL 7 final – Mohammed Esmaeil Nabibaksh. Top points scorer of PKL 7 Pawan Kumar Sehrawat has been retained by Bengaluru Bulls for a second consecutive season.
The MVP of PKL 7, Naveen Kumar, has been retained by Dabang Delhi KC under the ‘Retained Young Players’ category. Experienced players like Fazel Atrachali (U Mumba), Parvesh Bhainswal and Sunil Kumar (Gujarat Giants), Vikash Khandola (Haryana Steelers), and Nitesh Kumar (UP Yoddha) have been retained by their respective teams. Patna Pirates have not retained their star raider Pardeep Narwal so he'll be the one to watch out for in the auctions.
Other include Deepak Hooda, Rahul Chaudhari, Siddharth Desai, and Rohit Kumar will also be part of the player pool for the upcoming player auction. Anupam Goswami, League Commissioner and CEO of Mashal Sports said, “Preserving the spirit of squad continuity and team dynamics, the VIVO Pro Kabaddi League has maintained its Player Retention Policy, benefitting players and teams alike. The excitement among viewers and fans this year is palpable, and we are confident of delivering a stellar Season 8 of the VIVO Pro Kabaddi League!”
Here's the full list of retained players:
Bengal Warriors
Elite Retained Players:
Maninder Singh - Raider
Mohammad Esmaeil Nabibakhsh - All-Rounder
Rinku Narwal - Defender
Retained Young Players
Ravindra Ramesh Kumawat - Raider
Bengaluru Bulls
Elite Retained Players
Pawan Kumar Sehrawat - Raider
Amit Sheoran - Defender
Existing New Young Players
Saurabh Nandal - Defender
Banty - Raider
Mohit Sehrawat - Defender
Dabang Delhi KC
Elite Retained Players
Vijay - All Rounder
Neeraj Narwal - Raider
Retained Young Players
Naveen Kumar - Raider
Existing New Young Players
Balram - All Rounder
Sumit - Defender
Mohit - Defender
Gujarat Giants
Elite Retained Players
Parvesh Bhainswal - Defender
Sunil Kumar - Defender
Existing New Young Players
Harmanjeet Singh - Raider
Sumit - Defender
Ankit - Defender
Haryana Steelers
Elite Retained Players
Vikash Kandola - Raider
Existing New Young Players
Vinay - Raider
Vikas Chillar - Raider
Chand Singh - Defender
Jaipur Pink Panthers
Elite Retained Players
Amit Hooda - Defender
Vishal - Defender
Retained Young Players
Nitin Rawal - All Rounder
Existing New Young Players
Sachin Narwal - All-rounder
Pavan TR - Defender
Sushil Gulia - Raider
Elavarasan A - Defender
Patna Pirates
Elite Retained Players
Neeraj Kumar - Defender
Monu - Raider
Existing New Young Players
Sahil Mann - All Rounder
Rajveersinh Pratap Rao Chavan - Raider
Mohit - Raider
Puneri Paltan
Elite Retained Players
Balasaheb Shahaji Jadhav - Defender
Pawan Kumar Kadian - Raider
Hadi Tajik - Defender
Existing New Young Players
Sanket Sawant - Defender
Pankaj Mohite - Raider
Tamil Thalaivas
Existing New Young Players
Sagar - Defender
Himanshu - Defender
M Abishek - Defender
Telugu Titans
Elite Retained Players
Rakesh Gowda - Raider
Retained Young Players
Ankit Beniwal - Raider
Rajnish - Raider
Existing New Young Players
Manish - Defender
Akash Choudhary - Defender
Akash Dattu Arsul - Defender
U Mumba
Elite Retained Players
Abhishek Singh - Raider
Ajinkya Rohidas Kapre - All-Rounder
Harendra Kumar - Defender
Fazel Atrachali - Defender
Existing New Young Players
Navneet - Raider
UP Yoddha
Retained Young Players
Nitesh Kumar - Defender
Existing New Young Players
Sumit - Defender
Ashu Singh - Defender
Surinder Gill - Raider
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