I used to sit in the general compartment; Now I take flights and stay in 5-star hotels: Rahul Chaudhari reflects on Kabaddi's impact
R
ahul Chaudhari, a prominent Indian Kabaddi player who has been a key figure in the Pro Kabaddi League (PKL) for several seasons, went unsold in this season's auction.
In a recent interview with Star Sports, Chaudhari reflected on his journey and experiences in the league.
He shared, "I didn't want the money; I just wanted to play on TV. Uday Kumar had faith in me, and the Telugu Titans signed me for 8.2 lakh in the auction. Even after the auction, I couldn't believe it was happening. I started out staying in a general train compartment and now I'm taking flights and staying in five-star hotels. Kabaddi has brought me to such heights, and the warm welcome we received at the hotels made me very happy."
Rahul Chaudhari also spoke on his connection with Telugu Titans and their fans, He said "Fans chanting my name gave me the strength to perform. Telugu Titans holds a lot of importance in my life because I played six seasons with them, the team and the fans propelled me to stardom. This connection will always be there for as long as I live."
While speaking to Star Sports, Rahul Chaudhari gave his statement on his PKL retirement decision, he said "It was a very difficult decision to make. Even my family didn't know I was going to retire. When they heard about it, they called me and asked whether I've taken 'Sannyas' from PKL."
Ahead of PKL Season 11, let us have a look at how the squads are shaping up.
-Bengal Warriorz
The Warriorz have assembled a solid squad, with seasoned veterans Maninder Singh, retained through the Final Bid Match (FBM) card at Rs 1.15 Crore, and Fazel Atrachali, bought for Rs 50 Lakh, leading their attack and defence respectively. Blessed with squad depth, Bengal Warriorz appears to have covered all bases at the auction, with experienced individuals like Nitesh Kumar, Mayur Kadam, and Vaibhav Garje bolstering their defence. In the attack, Maninder will be supported by Nitin Kumar, Vishwas S, Arjun Rathi, and Taiwanese raider Chai-Ming Chang.
Bengal Warriorz full squad: Nitin Kumar, Vishwas S, Yash Malik, Manjeet, Deep Kumar, Sushil Kambrekar, Shreyas Umbardand, Aditya S. Shinde, Dipak Arjun Shinde, Maharudra Garje, Maninder Singh, Vaibhav Bhausaheb Garje, Sagar Kumar, Nitesh Kumar, Mayur Jagannath Kadam, Pranay Vinay Rane, Praveen Thakur, Akash B Chavhan, Arjun Rathi, Hem Raj, Sambhaji Wabale, Chai-Ming Chang (F - Foreign), Fazel Atrachali (F)
-Bengaluru Bulls
New-look Bengaluru Bulls will be raring for action after fine-tuning their squad with some key additions. They strengthened their attack at the player auction by buying top-quality raiders like Ajinkya Pawar and Pardeep Narwal for Rs 1.107 crore and Rs 70 Lakh respectively. Jai Bhagwan (Rs 63 Lakh) is another key addition in attack for the Bulls, while the experienced all-rounder Nitin Rawal is a player who contributes on both ends of the mat. In defence, the retained Saurabh Nandal is expected to lead by example alongside talents like Ponparthiban Subramanian, Parteek, and Arulnanthababu.
Bengaluru Bulls full squad: Ponparthiban Subramanian, Rohit Kumar, Sushil, Pankaj, Manjeet, Chandranaik M, Lucky Kumar, Aditya Shankar Powar, Akshit, Arulnanthababu, Parteek, Saurabh Nandal, Pardeep Narwal, Ajinkya Ashok Pawar, Nitin Rawal, Jai Bhagwan, Jatin, Pramot Saising (F), Hasun Thongkruea (F)
-Dabang Delhi KC
Dabang Delhi KC looks ready for Season 11 after constructing a powerful squad that other teams will be wary of. They retained their top stars like Naveen Kumar, Ashu Malik, and defender Yogesh ahead of the player auction. At the auction table, Dabang Delhi KC added more firepower to their attack by signing Siddharth Desai for Rs 26 Lakh. On the defensive front, Dabang Delhi KC made the smart additions of Gaurav Chhillar and Rinku Narwal to further boost their defence which also comprises talents such as Himmat Antil and Vikrant.
Dabang Delhi KC Full Squad: Naveen Kumar, Ashu Malik, Vikrant, Sandeep, Mohit, Ashish, Himmat Antil, Manu, Yogesh, Ashish, Siddharth Sirish Desai, Brijendra Singh Chaudhary, Nitin Panwar, Rinku Narwal, Himanshu, Vinay, Gaurav Chhillar, Rahul, Parveen, Md. Mijanur Rahman (F), Mohammad Baba Ali (F)
-Gujarat Giants
Ahead of the Player Auction, Gujarat Giants retained two of their top stars from Season 10. They retained Parteek Dahiya as well as Rakesh and ensured that they have well established raiders who are capable of scoring raid points at will. The Giants then further bolstered their attack at the player auction with a successful bid of Rs 1.97 Crore for raider Guman Singh. They also strengthened their defence at the player auction with the signings of Harsh Lad and Neeraj Kumar. Right corner Sombir and Iranian all-rounder Mohammad Esmaeil Nabibakhsh got picked through the FBM card.
Gujarat Giants Full Squad: Balaji D, Jitender Yadav, Nitin, Parteek Dahiya, Rakesh, Guman Singh, Sombir, Rohan Singh, Nitesh, Harsh Mahesh Lad, Manuj, Mohit, Neeraj Kumar, Himanshu Singh, Monu, Himanshu, Aadesh Siwach, Mohammad Esmaeil Nabibakhsh (F), Vahid RezaEimehr (F), Raj D. Salunkhe
-Haryana Steelers
Prior to the season 11 player auction, Haryana Steelers chose to retain defenders Jaideep Dahiya and Rahul Sethpal as well as raiders Shivam Patare and Vinay to keep the spine of their season 10 squad intact. At the Player Auction table, Haryana Steelers went all in and successfully bid Rs 2.07 Crore to secure the services of Iranian all-rounder Mohammadreza Shadloui Chiyaneh. Furthermore, the signings of all-rounders Naveen and Sanskar Mishra at the player auction ensured that the Steelers have a well-balanced squad.
Haryana Steelers full squad: Ghanshyam Roka Magar (F), Rahul Sethpal, Sahil, Gnana Abishek S, Vikas Ramadas Jadhav, Manikandan N, Jaya Soorya NS, Hardeep, Shivam Anil Patare, Vishal S. Tate, Jaideep, Vinay, Sanjay, Ashish Gill, Naveen, Manikandan S., Sanskar Mishra, Mohammadreza Shadloui Chiyaneh (F)
-Jaipur Pink Panthers
The Panthers opted to retain star raider Arjun Deshwal as well as defenders Ankush and Reza Mirbagheri prior to the player auction. They added to their defensive strength at the player auction by buying Surjeet Singh for Rs 60 Lakh and Ravi Kumar, Arpit Saroha as well as Lucky Sharma for Rs 13 Lakh each. Their raiding acquisitions were just as impressive with the likes of Neeraj Narwal, Vikash Kandola, and Shrikant Jadhav all set to represent Jaipur Pink Panthers in Season 11.
Jaipur Pink Panthers full squad: Arjun Deshwal, Reza Mirbagheri (F), Nitin Kumar, Sombir, Ritik Sharma, Ronak Singh, Abhijeet Malik, Abhishek KS, Ankush, Surjeet Singh, Lucky Sharma, Arpit Saroha, Ravi Kumar, Neeraj Narwal, Vikash Kandola, Shrikant Jadhav, Navneet, K. Dharanidharan, Mayank Malik, Aamir Wani, Amir Hossein Mohammadmaleki (F)
-Patna Pirates
After retaining all-rounder Ankit and raider Sudhakar M ahead of the player auction, Patna Pirates were busy at the auction table. Defender Shubham Shinde (Rs 70 Lakh) and all-rounder Gurdeep (Rs 59 Lakh) were their two top buys and are set to be integral members of their starting 7. Right cover Deepak Rajender Singh was another costly addition to the squad at INR 50 Lakh. As far as raiders are concerned, Patna Pirates made some smart buys by signing Meetu, Devank, and fan-favourite Jang Kun Lee to create a formidable attack.
Patna Pirates full squad: Ankit, Sandeep Kumar, Ayan, Deepak, Sahil Patil, Navdeep, Abinand Subhash, Kunal Mehta, Sudhakar M, Manish, Shubham Shinde, Gurdeep, Thiyagarajan Yuvaraj, Babu Murugasan, Deepak Rajender Singh, Meetu, Devank, Prashant Kumar Rathi, Sagar, Aman, Pravinder, Jang Kun Lee (F), Hamid Mirzaei Nader (F)
-Puneri Paltan
Similar to the Haryana Steelers, Puneri Paltan retained most of their title-winning players from last season. All-rounder Aslam Inamdar, raiders Akash Shinde, Pankaj Mohite, and Mohit Goyat as well as defenders Sanket Sawant, Abinesh Nadarajan, Gaurav Khatri, and Vaibhav Kamble were all retained. They also made quality additions at the player auction by buying raider V. Ajith Kumar (Rs 66 Lakh), defenders Vishal (Rs 13 Lakh) and Mohit (Rs 20 Lakh), as well as Iranian all-rounder Amir Hassan Noroozi (Rs 13.40 Lakh). Well stacked in defence and attack, Puneri Paltan will be confident about successfully defending their PKL crown.
Puneri Paltan full squad: Abinesh Nadarajan, Gaurav Khatri, Dadaso Shivaji Pujari, Nitin, Tushar Dattaray Adhavade, Vaibhav Balasaheb Kamble, Aditya Tushar Shinde, Akash Santosh Shinde, Aslam Mustafa Inamdar, Mohit Goyat, Pankaj Mohite, Sanket Sawant, Mohit, Aman, Vishal, V. Ajith Kumar, Sourav, Mohd. Amaan, Aryavardhan Navale, Ali Hadi (F), Amir Hassan Noroozi (F)
-Tamil Thalaivas
Having retained the likes of Sahil Gulia, Sagar, Narender, M. Abishek, and Himanshu to keep their core squad from last season in place, Tamil Thalaivas were rather quiet at the Player Auction. However, they still managed to record the biggest bid of the player auction after signing do-or-die raid specialist Sachin for a whopping price of Rs 2.15 crore. With Sachin and Narender in attack along with Sagar and Sahil in defence, Tamil Thalaivas look capable of having a strong season. Further reinforcements from the player auction like the Iranian duo of Moein Safaghi and Amirhossein Bastami only strengthened their chances of winning PKL Season 11.
Tamil Thalaivas full squad: Dhiraj Ravindra Bailmare, Ramkumar Mayandi, Anuj Kaluram Gawade, Nitesh Kumar, Nitin Singh, Ronak, Vishal Chahal, Narender, Aashish, Himanshu, M. Abishek, Mohit, Sagar, Sahil, Sachin, Sourabh Fagare, Moein Safaghi (F), Amirhossein Bastami (F)
-Telugu Titans
Following a disappointing season last time around, Telugu Titans decided to keep hold of all-rounders Sanjeevi S and Shankar Gadai as a couple of their retained players. They also bought back Pawan Sehrawat for Rs 1.725 Crore by using the FBM card and secured the services of raiders like Ashish Narwal and Manjeet. Meanwhile, the Titans ensured that their defence would not be easy to play against in PKL 11 courtesy of acquisitions like Krishan for Rs 70 Lakh, Milad Jabbari for Rs 13 Lakh and Sunder for the same price. Among all-rounders, adding players like Vijay Malik for Rs 20 Lakh and Amit Kumar for Rs 9 Lakh will ensure that the Titans will be competitive and fighting for the title in PKL Season 11.
Telugu Titans full squad: Ajit Pandurang Pawar, Shankar Bhimraj Gadai, Rohit, Sagar, Nitin, Chetan Sahu, Ankit, Omkar Narayan Patil, Praful Sudam Zaware, Sanjeevi S, Krishan, Pawan Kumar Sehrawat, Vijay Malik, Sunder, Manjeet, Ashish Narwal, Amit Kumar, Mohammad Malak (F), Milad Jabbari (F)
-U Mumba
Before the player auction, U Mumba retained Amirmohammad Zafardanesh, defenders Rinku, Bittu, Gokulakannan M, and Sombir. The Season 2 champions then proceeded to make smart purchases at the player auction and bought Sunil Kumar for Rs 1.015 crore to make him the most expensive Indian defender of all time. They also signed Parvesh Bhainswal for Rs 19.50 Lakh and raider Manjeet for Rs 80 Lakh to cover all bases in their squad. Add to that, the out-of-the-box signings of Iranian defender Amin Ghorbani for Rs 14 Lakh and Stuwart Singh for Rs 14.20 Lakh and one can expect U Mumba to pull off some surprises in the upcoming season.
U Mumba full squad: Rinku, Amirmohammad Zafardanesh (F), Ajit Chouhan, Lokesh Ghosliya, Deepak Kundu, Sunny, Bittu, Gokulakannan M., Mukilan Shanmugam, Sombir, Shivam, Sunil Kumar, Manjeet, Parvesh Bhainswal, Satish Kannan, Vishal Choudhary, Stuwart Singh, Shubham Kumar, Aashish Kumar, M. Dhanasekar, Amin Ghorbani (F)
-UP Yoddhas
The Yoddhas opted to keep Sumit, Surender Gill, Ashu Singh, and Gagana Gowda ahead of the Player Auction. With their key stars from the previous campaign already a part of the team, the Yoddhas went on to enjoy a good Season 11 Player Auction by signing the likes of all-rounder Bharat for Rs 1.30 crore and raider Bhavani Rajput for Rs 45 Lakh besides also bagging the signatures of defenders Sahul Kumar for Rs 30 Lakh and Mahender Singh for Rs 21.40 Lakh. Iranian defender Mohammadreza Kaboudrahangi and raider Heidarali Ekrami were also bought at the player auction as the Yoddhas constructed a solid squad full of quality with multiple options in all positions.
UP Yoddhas full squad: Sachin, Keshav Kumar, Gangaram, Jayesh Vikas Mahajan, Gagana Gowda HR, Hitesh, Shivam Chaudhary, Ashu Singh, Sumit, Surender Gill, Sahul Kumar, Bharat, Mahender Singh, Bhavani Rajput, Aksham R. Suryawanshi, Vivek, Heidarali Ekrami (F), Mohammadreza Kaboudrahangi (F).
✔️ I used to sit in the general compartment; Now I take flights and stay in 5-star hotels: Rahul Chaudhari reflects on Kabaddi's impact
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