Team Talk: Stacked Jaipur start among the frontrunners

After missing out on a place in the Super Playoffs in Season 5 of VIVO Pro Kabaddi, Jaipur Pink Panthers were determined in their efforts to build a championship-caliber team and managed to do just that in the auction.

The winners of the inaugural season of VIVO Pro Kabaddi signed former U Mumba captain Anup Kumar to lead the squad in Season 6 and added Deepak Hooda, who features among the Top 10 raiders in league history.

The addition of coveted Right Corner Mohit Chhillar will bring quality and experience in Jaipur’s defense, which also boasts of Sandeep Dhull and Bajirao Hodage. The Pink Panthers have one of the most exciting rosters in Season 6 of VIVO Pro Kabaddi and it will be interesting to see if the team can gel and go all the way in the league.

Team Highlights

Outstanding raider duo

Very few teams can claim to have two of the top six VIVO Pro Kabaddi raiders of all-time in their line-up but Jaipur can boast of that unique distinction.

The Season 1 winners added Anup Kumar to their roster and named him the captain for Season 6. ‘Captain Cool’ has an elite raiding partner in Deepak Niwas Hooda to lead Jaipur’s offense in the upcoming season.

The two raiders have combined to score a magnificent 1,003 points over the course of their VIVO Pro Kabaddi careers. Opposition defences have their work cut out this season when they come up against the Pink Panthers and their scary raiding duo.

Experienced defence

209 Tackle Points in 77 games, the fourth-most in VIVO Pro Kabaddi history, speaks volume of the kind of talent that Mohit Chhillar possesses. A winner of the league with U Mumba in Season 2, Mohit Chhillar had a down year, by his standards in Season 5, failing to finish in Top 10 Tackle Point list for the first time in his VIVO Pro Kabaddi career.

A reunion with ‘Captain Cool’ Anup Kumar, under whose leadership the Right Corner excelled during his three-season stint with U Mumba, could win him that elusive Best Defender award this time.

Bajirao Hodage, a veteran of five seasons, the returning Sandeep Dhull and all-rounder Nitin Rawal, who scored the third-most points by an all-rounder in Season 5, also feature in a strong Jaipur defensive unit.   

Stating Stats

Wins - 39

Draws - 6

Losses – 37

Total Points scored – 2491(55.88% from Raid Points and 29.50% from Tackle Points)

Total Points conceded - 2457

All-Outs inflicted – 192

Most Successful Raider (seasons 1-5) – Jasvir Singh with 338 Raid Points

Most Successful Defender (seasons 1-4) – Ran Singh with 105 Tackle Points

Form Guide

1. Among teams that have featured in more than two editions of VIVO Pro Kabaddi, Jaipur have conceded the least number of points.

2. The Pink Panthers’ defenders clocked 13 Super Tackles in Season 5, a tally bettered by only two other teams.

3. New Pink Panthers captain Anup Kumar is fifth on the all-time list for most points in VIVO Pro Kabaddi history with 546.

4. Nitin Rawal had a fantastic campaign in Season 5 for the Pink Panthers, scoring 85 points, the joint second-highest tally by an all-rounder.