The Pro Kabaddi League from Season 5 started a Future Kabaddi Program where they will hold a trial from around the country and select the best the players aged 18-21 among them and conduct a camp for them. The PKL franchisees then select the players from this camp and give them a chance to be stars of PKL. These are also known as New Young Players. We take a look at 5 best NYP’s of PKL 6.
Naveen Kumar: Young Naveen Kumar proved to be a sensation for Dabang Delhi leading their raiding department scoring 172 raid points, the most by a Delhi player in PKL 6. The 18-year old was one of the big reasons for Dabang Delhi making their first ever play-offs in PKL history. Not since Rahul Chaudhari in PKL 1 has a teenaged raider made such an impact in PKL. Naveen’s biggest asset is his quick footwork and the ability to lure defences into making mistakes. He is quick on the mat and possesses a deadly running hand touch. The Haryana native is expected to better his PKL 6 performances and once again lead Dabang Delhi’s raiding department.
Vishal Bhardwaj: Another young defender Vishal Bhardwaj made his mark in PKL 6 with consistently brilliant performances. The young left corner scored 60 tackle points in just 17 matches at an average of 3.53 tackle points per match, only Nitesh Kumar and Fazel Atrachali had better average tackle points per match. The Titans Captain also made 9 super tackles, the most by a player in PKL 6. The 20-year old missed 5 matches and the Titans won just 1 out of those 5 matches proving how crucial Vishal was for the fortunes of Telugu Titans.
Surinder Singh: The laughing stock of PKL 5, the enigmatic Surinder matured remarkably in PKL 6 becoming one of the best right covers in the game. The 20-year old always had the power but struggled for timing and gifted away points to the raiders due to his impetuousness. The U Mumba defender scored 62 tackle points, among right covers only Gujarat’s Sunil Kumar scored more tackle points emerging as one of the best defenders of PKL 6. The Himachal native formed a deadly duo with his fellow Himachal native Rohit Rana with his deadly holds flooring many raiders in their tracks making him a feared opponent for the opposition raiders.
Amit Sheoran: The left corner was surprisingly overlooked at the start of the season with the Bulls instead preferring to use Jawahar Vivek and Sandeep ahead of him, with both of them disappointing Bengaluru Bulls coach Randhir Singh turned to Amit Sheoran and the young left corner didn’t disappoint producing a number of consistent displays leading to a maiden title win for the Bulls. His impact can be gauged by the fact that since his introduction in the starting 7 Bulls went from being a defensively suspect team to a team with one of the strongest defences in the league. The left corner floored raiders with vice like ankle holds and ended up scoring 38 tackle points from just 15 matches including 2 High 5s.
Nitesh Kumar: The right corner had a season for ages displaying maturity well beyond his years and leading U.P Yoddha’s defence. The 21- year old enjoyed a season for ages becoming the first player to score 100 tackle points in history. His tally of 8 High 5s were also the 2nd most in a PKL season with only Surender Nada having more in a PKL season. Nitesh, the youngest member of the Yoddha defence almost single handedly kept the opposition raiders at bay when many of his senior defenders struggled for form. Nitesh has emerged as one of the most complete defenders of PKL with his vice like ankle and thigh holds.
