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VIVO Pro Kabaddi 2019 is set to commence from 20th July 2019. The league will witness a new format with the addition of double round-robin where every team will play two matches against all the other teams in contention.
Dabang Delhi K.C. qualified for the first time in Pro Kabaddi playoffs in season as the experience of captain Joginder Narwal, along with Ravinder Pahal and Vishal Mane led the way. Added to their strong show, the team's plethora of options in the raiding department helped Delhi reach the knockouts in the sixth season.
Teenage sensation Naveen Kumar Goyat finished as the top raider for Delhi last season with 177 raid points in 22 matches, at an average of 8.1 raid points per game. He received decent support from Chandran Ranjit who scored 158 raid points.
The defensive unit remained intact as the corner duo of Joginder Narwal and Ravinder Pahal outshined everybody with their defensive class as both of them combined to score 110 tackle points for the team.
For PKL 7, Dabang Delhi retained Meraj Sheykh, Joginder Narwal, Naveen Goyat, Aman Kadian and Sumit (NYP) ahead of the auction. Under the tutelage of coach Kishan Kumar Hooda, Delhi signed 18 players in their squad with Chandran Ranjit being the most expensive player, with the franchise having signed him up for ₹70 lakh from the auction.
With the tournament set to commence in only a few days from now, here are three reasons why Dabang Delhi K.C. could go on to win the title.
#1 The raiding trio of Meraj Sheykh, Chandran Ranjit and Naveen Goyat
Iranian Meraj Sheykh has been an integral part of Dabang Delhi from season 4. He has led the team on multiple occasions in the past editions. This lion jump and scorpion kick specialist has a total of 309 raid points in 82 matches with five super 10s in his tally.
Chandran Ranjit is a quick raider and can execute running hand touches and escapes. He provided support to the offensive attack last season, scoring 153 raid points in 24 matches at an average of 6.38 raid points.
Joining them will be the find of Dabang Delhi K.C. in season 6, Naveen Goyat. This young raider became the highest raid points scorer for the team. He also became the second-youngest raider to score a Super 10 in Pro Kabaddi history. He picked up bonus points, and executed hand touches on the cover defense of the opposition.
With such an offensive line-up in the mix, these three raiders can depict a variety of raiding skills in their matches. The variety in the skill could well prove to be a game-changer, that could put the best of defensive units under pressure.
Naveen Goyat and Chandran Ranjit will be men to watch out for as Meraj Sheykh will look to step up when both of them fail to show up on any given day.
#2 Experience in the defensive unit
The team management used their FBM card in the PKL 7 auctions to bring back the services of Ravinder Pahal for ₹61 lakh in order to keep their tried and tested corner duo from a successful season 6 intact.
Having played for so many years together, both defenders understand the game plan and innovate their skills when they're with each other in the same team. The duo combined to play a vital role in taking Puneri Paltan to the semi-finals in season 4 and Dabang Delhi to the playoffs in season 6.
Skipper Joginder Narwal and Ravinder scored 51 and 59 tackle points respectively out of 22 matches for the team last season and they will yet again look to be the rock-solid corners for Delhi this season.
The cover defense of Dabang Delhi K.C. comprises of Vishal Mane (right), Anil Kumar (left), Iranian Saied Ghaffari (left) and also all-rounder Vijay (right). Vishal Mane will be a priority pick for the covers in the team.
He will be accompanied by Anil Kumar, who had a fantastic outing with Telugu Titans last year and provided some breath-taking dives from the left cover position.
Overall, Dabang Delhi K.C. have a good chance of winning the title if their defensive unit can stay consistent and united in the league stage matches.
#1 Core retained from a successful season 6 campaign
The sixth edition of Pro Kabaddi was the most successful campaign for Dabang Delhi in the history of the league. They managed to win five out of six games in their home leg which was the most wins by any team in the previous season.
This time, with the core retained, the team can be expected to performe well as one of the strong contenders for the title, with a number of potential players with proper backups on the bench as well.
The management used FBM cards on Chandran Ranjit and Ravinder Pahal and bought back the services of Vishal Mane from the season seven auction. With six former players again taking the mat for the team, Dabang Delhi will be keen to repeat their fine show from last season.
They were termed as the 'underdogs' last season as they made their way towards the playoffs with a top set of performances. Dabang Delhi could perhaps win their first-ever Pro Kabaddi title if they continue to stay united and perform consistently as a team.
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