With Siddharth Desai in attack and defensive depth, Haryana Steelers seem poised to go all the way

Haryana Steelers will be eager to make a mark in Pro Kabaddi Season 10 after falling short of playoff qualification in the past two seasons. They narrowly missed out on playoff qualification by two points in each of the last two campaigns and will be eager to make amends in the upcoming season.

Ahead of the milestone 10th PKL Season, Haryana Steelers retained eight players, including K. Prapanjan from the Elite Retained Players (ERP) category. The likes of Vinay, Jaideep Dahiya and Mohit Nandal from the Retained Young Players (RYP) category were also kept hold of, while Naveen, Monu, Harsh and Sunny were retained from the existing New Young Players category.

At the Season 10 Player Auction, they opted not to exercise their Final Bid Match (FBM) card on any of their former players from the previous campaign with head coach Manpreet Singh targeting a fresh pool of talent.

Raiding Riches

Haryana Steelers have got a lot of variety in their raiding unit with the likes of Siddharth Desai, K. Prapanjan, Chandran Ranjit and Vinay, all a part of the team. All eyes will be on Baahubali Siddharth Desai who looks poised to be the Steelers’ main raider in Season 10. Siddharth Desai has scored 611 raid points, including 22 Super Raids and 30 Super 10s in 63 PKL matches so far.

He will be supported by Chandran Ranjit and K. Prapanjan who have scored 503 and 427 raid points respectively in their PKL career. The experience and versatility of Siddharth Desai, Chandran Ranjit and K. Prapanjan bodes well for the team’s raiding unit. Vinay who has been a part of PKL and the Steelers since Season 7 will also be keen to make his presence felt for the team in attack as he looks to add to his 209 raid points in Pro Kabaddi so far.

Multiple Defensive Options

On the defensive front, Jaideep Dahiya and Mohit Nandal were one of the top defensive pairs in the previous PKL season. Jaideep scored 54 tackle points, while Mohit Nandal managed 44 tackle points in Season 9. This duo will once again be key to the Haryana Steelers’ defence in the season ahead and will be hoping for some solid backup from Harsh and Sunny Sehrawat.

Meanwhile, Rahul Sethpal and Mohit, both of whom were a part of U Mumba in the previous campaign, are two more defenders who will be expected to have an impact for the Steelers. While Sethpal notched up 16 tackle points last season, Mohit managed 44 tackle points.

Furthermore, the acquisition of a quality all-rounder in Ashish who has produced 204 points in 43 matches will add great balance and provide more options to the team in attack as well as defence. He will be eager to kick on in the new campaign after enjoying a solid season last time around when he scored 97 raid points and 23 tackle points for U Mumba.

If head coach Manpreet Singh manages to find the right combinations in the early stages of Pro Kabaddi Season 10 with Siddharth Desai leading the attack while the likes of Jaideep Dahiya and Mohit Nandal marshall the defence, Haryana Steelers could be a force to reckon with and genuine contenders for the coveted PKL trophy.