Top 3 teams in PKL 10: Who can buy 2nd most expensive player Vikas Kandola
Haryana born 24-year-old raider Vikas Kandola will be going under the hammer for Pro Kabaddi League season 10 after Bengaluru Bulls sent him to the player pool. It was a surprising decision by Season 6 champions, given the fact that they made Kandola the 2nd most expensive player in edition 9.
Under the management of head coach Randhir Sehrawat, Bulls splashed a record amount of INR 1.7 Crores to replace their another outgoing star Pawan Sehrawat. The latter went on to actually become PKL's most expensive signing for INR 3.2 Crores by Tamil Thalaivas.
With Bengaluru getting rid of Kandola, they have retained just 2 raiders who worked efficiently for them last year. Bharat and Neeraj Narwal have been given the nod along with defenders Saurabh Nandal, Aman and Yash Hooda.
Some might bother to argue that Vikas Kandola had an underperforming year as compared to his previous seasons. But the actual fact is, Kandola is yet to reach his prime. The price tag associated with him definitely hyped him but Randhir Sehrawat has balanced the equation.
In his 6th Pro Kabaddi League season since making his debut in Season 4, Vikas came out successful 135 times out of a total of 339 raids. After a brief stint with Dabang Delhi K.C, Kandola moved to his hometown side Haryana Steelers.
There he captained the team for 4 years and switched to a South Indian outfit after scoring 610 raid points. His Raid points when he has at least played 20 matches in a season has been above 150 except last year. So it is obvious that the price tag certainly cursed Kandola's development in Season 9, but here are 3 teams that can give him another chance in Season 10.
1. Haryana Steelers - A return for Vikas Kandola to his former side could be on the cards this season as both have suffered somehow without each other. While Haryana missed a leader in the team, Kandola despite having his chance on the mat, did play as a 2nd raider to Bharat.
Kandola's first season with Steelers saw him score 58 raid points in 9 matches. In his next 3 seasons he had 150+ points but never touched the 200-mark. His highest scoring season came in Season 7 when he finished with 190 raid points but was unlucky to guide them to PKL glory despite reaching the Knockouts.
With a Purse of INR 3.16 Crores, Haryana might look into Vikas Kandola's homecoming with a hope that this time he can go one step forward. Steelers have retained only 2 raiders - K Prapanjan and Vinay.
2. Dabang Delhi K.C - Season 8 winners somewhat looked and definitely played as "probable season 9 winners" initially last year before succumbing down the competitive PKL table. With a purse of INR 3.12 Crores, Dabang Delhi could explore the option of re-uniting with Kandola.
They played with an evenly young squad with Captain Naveen Kumar, the only one to have a shiny season. Under the new management of Rambir Singh Khokhar as head coach and Ajay Thakur as his assistant, Delhi will be keen to have a dominant start, sustained through to the ending phases.
Vikas Kandola left Delhi only after his debut season, playing just 4 times and he will hav a point to prove and a leg to break. Rambir Singh and Ajay Thakur will have to identify and add the missing element in Kandola, which can double his explosiveness and raid points.
3. Telegu Titans - South Indian outfit Telegu Titans are yet to really establish them as a force in Pro Kabaddi League but they have a golden chance this year. The season 10 auction will allow the teams to choose from a bigger player pool with more flexibility. A squad that needs a lot of integration is Telegu Titans.
They dropped some big names like Vishal Bhardwaj, Abhishek Sharma, Siddharth Desai, Ravinder Pahal, Surjeet Singh and Monu Goyat. Releasing these many players is indicative of one thing only and that is to start afresh.
The players did look weared off last season and the unit looked out of place. Thus, Vikas Kandola can be a good option.
In the past also, Telegu Titans have invested on such type of players and with the 3rd highest purse (INR 3.46Cr) in PKL 10 auction, the Titans may well go into a bidding war for Vikas Kandola.
It should be noted that Kandola's parent club, Bengaluru Bulls can use their FBM card to bring the 24-year-old back. All speculations will be clear when PKL 10 auction takes place.
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