In-form Haryana Steelers will battle Telugu Titans on Tuesday in Pro Kabaddi League Season 8 at The Sheraton Grand, Bengaluru. The match is scheduled to begin at 7.30 pm. The Steelers have looked a well-rounded unit in the past few games with secondary raiders Vinay and Rohit Gulia supporting the effervescent Vikash Kandola. While, Telugu Titans are yet to stamp their authority this season having just registered a solitary win. Having already lost their chance to qualify for the playoffs, they will be playing for pride.
Haryana might not have a superstar like Naveen Kumar or Pawan Sehrawat but they certainly have the squad depth to compensate for that. Captain Vikash Kandola is their lead raider but they have the impressive trio of Meetu, Vinay and Rohit Gulia who can contribute with points when called upon. Even Ashish has chipped in with valuable contributions when required. Similarly in defence, the unity of Jaideep, Mohit and Surender Nada has been the key to stability.
It is hard to fault the Titans for their poor season considering all the injuries the team has suffered. Experienced Siddharth Desai and Rohit Kumar have been big losses while young stars like Rajnish have also missed matches due to fatigue. They are at the bottom of the points table. This can actually work in favour of the Titans who have nothing to lose. Youngsters such as Rajnish, Adarsh T, and Ankit Beniwal should use this as a chance to showcase their talent on the grandest stage. And there will be no bigger opportunity than the match against table-toppers Bengaluru Bulls.
SQUADS
Haryana Steelers
Raiders– Vikash Kandola (C), Vinay, Meetu Sharma, Mohammad Esmaeil Mghsoudlou, Vikas Chhillar, Akshay Kumar, Ashish Narwal, Sawin Narwal.
All-rounders- Rohit Gulia, Rajesh Narwal, Vikas Jaglan, Hamid Mirzaei Nader, Bijendra Singh Chaudhary, Ajay Ghanghas
Defenders- Surender Nada, Ravi Kumar, Shrikant Tewthia, Rajesh Gurjar, Sudhakar Kadam, Chand Singh, Yash Jaideep Dahiya, Mohit
Telugu Titans
Raiders- Rohit Kumar (C), Siddharth Desai, Rajnish Dalal, Rakesh Gowda, Galla Raju, Ankit Beniwal, Amit Chauhan, Hyunsu Park
Defenders- Surinder Singh, Ruturaj Koravi, Sandeep Kandola, C Arun, Akash Arsul, Adarsh T, Akash Chaudhari, Manish, Prince, Abe Tetsuro