Dabang Delhi have used their FBM to buy back Ashu Malik for ₹1.90 Crore
The 11th edition of the Pro Kabaddi League (PKL) was a fruitful season for Dabang Delhi, as they finished as semifinalists. Delhi had a strong squad last season, led by star raiders Naveen Kumar, popularly known as the “Naveen Express,” and Ashu Malik. In defence, Yogesh Dahiya has been their best defender for the last two seasons.
However, Dabang Delhi let go of their entire squad and just retained two young players, Mohit and Sandeep Deshwal. They went to the auction with a new strategy as they looked to rebuild things from scratch. They had the highest purse this season and were expected to do some big signings.
The season 8 champions also had to work on their weakness of getting the support raider and improving the defence, as Delhi’s overall defensive performance was poor. They had the second-worst average tackle points among all teams. In raiding, as well, Ashu Malik struggled to get support from the other raiders.
In the auction, Dabang Delhi used their Final Bid Match (FBM) card on Ashu Malik for two years and showed their trust in him to be the leader of the raiding department. Delhi braced their raiding unit by buying Akshit Dhull, who had a decent stint with Bengaluru Bulls, and Neeraj Narwal, who are expected to provide crucial support to Ashu. They have also retained Mohi, who adds depth to the squad as the third raider. Furthermore, they signed some new youngsters and have taken Ajinkya Pawar at the last moment.
On the defensive end, Delhi made some experienced buys and instead of relying on youngsters, they went with the experienced players this time, bringing in Fazel Atrachali and Amir Hossein Bastami, forming a formidable Iranian corner duo that could be a major threat if in form.
They also signed experienced Indian defenders Saurabh Nandal and Surjeet Singh, who add stability and depth on the defensive side. Although Delhi attempted to buy Parvesh Bhainswal to strengthen their cover, unfortunately, he was retained by U Mumba via FBM.
Dabang Delhi has assembled a squad with young raiders and experienced defenders, the same formula that helped them win their maiden Pro Kabaddi League title. Will they replicate the same this time? Only time will tell.
Dabang Delhi squad for the PKL 12:
Raiders: Ashu Malik, Neeraj Narwal, Akshit, Ajinkya Ashok Pawar, Anil Gurjar, Vijay, Mohit (Existing NYP)
Defenders: Fazel Atrachali, Surjeet Singh, Saurabh Nandal, Gaurav Chhillar, Mohit, Sandeep (Existing NYP), Anurag (NYP), Raman Singh (NYP)
All-Rounders: Amir Bastami, Naveen, Ashish Kumar Sangwan, Arkam Shaikh, Amit
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