With new coaches and a revamped defence, Dabang Delhi K.C. look to reclaim Pro Kabaddi glory

Season 8 Pro Kabaddi champions Dabang Delhi K.C. weren’t at their fluent best in the previous PKL edition as they fell short in their bid for a second title. They managed to make it to the Playoffs but lost in the Eliminator to bring an end to their Season 9 campaign. Ahead of Season 10, Dabang Delhi K.C. have retained the services of some of their best performers from last year and they will be hoping that these players can continue to flourish once again in the new campaign.

Dabang Delhi K.C. retained five players for the milestone 10th PKL season, including Naveen Kumar from the Retained Young Players (RYP) category and Vijay, Manjeet, Ashish Narwal and Suraj Panwar from the Existing New Young Players category. They also targeted players who performed well for them in Season 9 at the Player Auction and exercised their Final Bid Match (FBM) card to retain the services of Ashu Malik, who was one of their most exciting players last year.

Exciting Pool of Young Raiders

Naveen Kumar - Dabang Delhi K.C.’s talisman over the past few years - has been one of the most consistent raiders in Pro Kabaddi since his debut in PKL. He was among the top three raiders in Season 9 with 254 raid points while shouldering the added responsibility of captaincy at a young age. Needless to say, Naveen will once again be their team’s go-to man in attack in Season 10 as he looks to add to his 934 raid points in the upcoming campaign.

His Season 9 teammates Ashu Malik and Manjeet will also have big roles to play in Season 10. While Ashu Malik amassed 141 raid points last year, Manjeet contributed 62 raid points and both of them will be hoping to kick on and provide strong support for Naveen Kumar in attack in the new campaign. The trio of Naveen Kumar, Ashu Malik and Manjeet are likely to be entrusted with most of the attacking responsibilities for Dabang Delhi K.C. in Season 10 and a lot will depend on how they perform on the mat if the team from the capital wants to bag their second PKL title.

Furthermore, the addition of Meetu Sharma to the squad will boost Dabang Delhi K.C.’s attacking arsenal. Meetu was on song in the previous edition of PKL and earned 135 raid points, including five Super 10s. Ashish Narwal, Suraj Panwar and Manu are a few more raiders who will be eager to contribute for the team in attack.

Fresh Faces in Defence

In defence, Dabang Delhi K.C. have secured the services of the experienced Vishal Bhardwaj and Sunil for Season 10. These two tacklers had similar defensive numbers last year with Vishal Bhardwaj scoring 44 tackle points while Sunil notched 41 tackle points. They will be hoping to hit the ground running once the new campaign gets underway and form the backbone of Dabang Delhi K.C.’s defence in Season 10.

Balasaheb Jadhav along with Nitin Chandel, Vijay, Himmat Antil, Ashish, Yogesh, Vikrant and Mohit feature among Dabang Delhi K.C.’s domestic defenders. Meanwhile, Felix Li and Yuvraj Pandeya are a few of the foreign defenders who are a part of the squad for the Season 8 champions. While Dabang Delhi K.C.’s defence will probably rely heavily on the likes of Vishal Bhardwaj and Sunil to lead the way, expect some of the newer faces to stand up and be counted in Season 10.

Even though Dabang Delhi K.C. have been consistent performers in the recent past having made it to the playoffs in each of the last four seasons, they will be disappointed not to have claimed more than one PKL title during that period. With a good blend of top quality raiders and dependable defenders, Dabang Delhi K.C. boast a team that can go all the way.

Add to that, Rambir Singh Khokhar coming on board as their head coach and the legendary Ajay Thakur as an assistant coach in their backroom staff, and it’s safe to say that Dabang Delhi K.C. have all the makings of a side that can contest for the Season 10 PKL trophy.