Pro Kabaddi 2019: Jaipur Pink Panthers look at past to prepare for future

Jaipur Pink Panthers have been one of the most followed teams in the Pro Kabaddi League. They are co-owned by a Bollywood actor and once had India’s top stars including Anup Kumar in the team. The Panthers have been popular ever since they won their first title in the inaugural season of the league.

The champions failed to reach the final in the second and third seasons. But there was hope because the team had stars who could win matches single-handedly. For those two seasons, Jaipur failed to match the expectations, finishing fifth and sixth respectively.

They needed a revamp in their ranks, especially in their defence. Amit Hooda brought the revival. His defensive qualities in the right corner made Jaipur a strong unit and they made it to the finals before falling to Patna Pirates who were utterly dominant that season.

Jaipur fell off once again after that, failing to advance to the playoffs due to a weak defence. Deepak Hooda performed well as a raider but no one held the team together in the defence.

So Jaipur decided to bring back Amit. The defence star is back after two seasons and the team will be pinning its hopes on him to carry them through to the playoffs.

Auction report

Jaipur were never in doubt of retaining star raider Deepak for whom they spent close to Rs 1.3 crore. The team’s purse was mostly spent in retaining players like Ajinkya Pawar, Sandeep Dhull and Nitin Rawat but Amit was brought in for Rs 53 lakh. Their focus seemed to be strengthening their defence after the loss of Mohit Chillar who was not retained after a poor season.

Sunil Siddhgavali and Vishal were also added to increase the strength in the defence line.

Strengths

The Panthers needed to make their defence stronger but they have managed to form a good raiding line-up. Deepak has to take the responsibility to lead the raiding and Jaipur know that their strength lies in collecting raiding points. Pawar will be another important cog for Jaipur as the youngster impressed everyone with his performance in season six. Nilesh Salunke and Deepak Narwal will be supporting both of them.

Another aspect which makes Jaipur a lethal team are the corner defenders. Amit and Sandeep Dhull in left and right corner respectively will make life tough for opposition raiders.

Weaknesses

While Jaipur have managed to cover most bases, the cover defence still looks weak. It has been the bone in their flesh for the past two seasons and they seem to lack a formidable player in that position yet again. Sunil and Vishal will be the first-choice defenders there but whether they will be able to continue for the entire match remains to be seen. The left corner position is what Jaipur need to cover.

Coach report

L Srinivas Reddy was handed the reigns of Jaipur last season, in what was his first stint as head coach in the Pro Kabaddi League. After serving as an assistant coach for with Haryana Steelers and Telugu Titans in the past, it was his first season as head coach.

Despite his young age, Reddy was the head coach of the Indian women’s team which won the Asian Games silver medal. With the men’s team, he had won the Kabaddi Masters at Dubai in 2018.

Player to watch out for: Amit Hooda

Jaipur have trusted Amit once again which should give more confidence to him. Having played five seasons so far, Amit is one of the experienced defenders in the league at 23. He first played for Jaipur in season four and had the second-highest tackle points at 51 with an average of 3.1. Overall, he has an average of 2.7 in the league. He is also third in the all-time list for tackle points since season four.

Amit can prove to be crucial in Jaipur’s campaign and decide where the team finishes on the table this season.