PKL 11: Which Teams Found Success With NYPs?

The Pro Kabaddi League is a salary-capped league, with teams permitted to spend a maximum of ₹5 crores for the 11^th edition of the tournament. One big bad purchase is all it takes for a team’s season to be derailed, so it is of utmost importance to spend wisely at the auction. On the flip side, one great cheap buy can transform a team and that’s where the New Young Player comes in.

An NYP is, as the name states, a player who has never played in the PKL before and is between the ages of 18 and 22. These players are paid a fixed salary for the season and it was ₹10.6 lacs in the 11^th edition. Teams tend to hope for one of their NYPs to become a starter and they can be real game-changers if they turn out to be a success. So, which teams hit the jackpot with their NYPs? Let’s have a look.

Patna Pirates

The Pirates made it to the semifinals in PKL 10 but then opted not to hold on to their strike raiders Sachin Tanwar and Manjeet Dahiya for PKL 11. It seemed a risky move, but to say they nailed it with the replacements would be an understatement. Devank Dalal was named Best Raider of Season 11 with 301 raid points (most in the tournament) but it is his raid partner who we are focusing on here.

Ayan Lohchab was named NYP of the season after recording 184 raid points (5^th most) at a 47.8% success rate. He recorded 7 Super 10s along the way and was an excellent partner in crime for Devank. Together they led the Pirates all the way to the Final but unfortunately weren’t able to get over the line against the Haryana Steelers.

Ayan was the only NYP who made a significant impact on the Pirates. Of the three others they had roped in, Navdeep chipped in a little bit with 15 tackle points, but that was it.

U Mumba

While the Pirates have had success in recent editions, the same could not have been said about U Mumba. They had failed to make the playoffs in PKL 8, 9, and 10, but a certain NYP managed to end that drought.

Ajit Chouhan finished with 185 raid points (4^th most) at a 45.5% success rate in PKL 11. Chouhan put up 9 Super 10s in the process and was the biggest reason why U Mumba finished fifth in the standings. They lost to the Pirates in the Eliminator, but the future is bright with him leading the way.

U Mumba did have another NYP who showed flashes of life in the latter stages of the campaign and that was Lokesh Ghosliya. Ghosliya had 14 tackle points in his last 6 games and ended the campaign with 15 at a 46.7% success rate. He is certainly someone to keep an eye on for PKL 12.

Telugu Titans

The Telugu Titans very nearly ended their playoff drought in this edition, finishing seventh in the standings. While the likes of Vijay Malik, Pawan Sehrawat, and Ashish Narwal deserve a lot of credit for the turnaround, NYP Sagar Sethpal played his part too.

Sagar finished with 41 tackle points at a 37.7% success rate in PKL 11. He had two High 5s to his name and the Titans might have found two building blocks for their defense in him and second-year player Ankit Jaglan (45 tackle points).

As for the rest of the teams, they didn’t really have any standouts and as a result, the players didn’t end up getting too many opportunities to play. Bengal Warriorz’s Sushil Kambrekar did show flashes as he recorded 34 raid points and 8 tackle points while his teammate Manjeet Choudary had 16 tackle points. Dabang Delhi, meanwhile, saw Sandeep Deswal earn 27 tackle points and Mohit Deswal record 23 raid points.

Best NYP Raiders

Best NYP Defenders

The teams that didn’t have these standouts or just didn’t give opportunities to NYPs enjoyed varying levels of success. The Steelers didn’t see any of their NYPs shine but still won the title. The Bengaluru Bulls, meanwhile, finished at the bottom.

There were two teams that didn’t even bring in an NYP and they didn’t have great campaigns. One of them was the Gujarat Giants, who finished 11^th, while the other was the Puneri Paltan, who were 8^th.

The Paltan could point to Aslam Inamdar’s injury as the cause for their downfall and while that’s true, the fact is they didn’t have too many good backups. A capable NYP could have maybe helped fill those holes but they instead went for some C and D category players who failed to step up. It will be interesting to see if they or the Giants change their approach next season.