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Pro Kabaddi 2024 starts tonight (Friday, October 18) in Hyderabad, with home team Telugu Titans set to square off against season six champions Bengaluru Bulls in the opening game. It is a double-header in Hyderabad tonight as Dabang Delhi KC will lock horns with U Mumba in the second match.
Winning the PKL trophy is the ultimate goal of every player and team in the Pro Kabaddi League. However, the players will also be eyeing the league's Most Valuable Player award, handed to the tournament's best performer.
Over the last 10 seasons, several star players like Pardeep Narwal, Pawan Sehrawat, Anup Kumar, Manjeet Chhillar, Rohit Kumar, Naveen Kumar, Arjun Deshwal, and Aslam Inamdar have won this award.
Ahead of the 11th edition of the Pro Kabaddi League, here's a list of the three players who could win the MVP award this season:
#1 Maninder Singh, Bengal Warriorz
Maninder Singh will create a unique record this year as he will become the first player in PKL history to represent the same franchise in seven different Pro Kabaddi League seasons. Singh will play his seventh season for the Bengal Warriorz in PKL 11.
The Warriorz have shown so much faith in Maninder due to his consistent performances for the franchise. He is second in the Pro Kabaddi League's all-time raid points leaderboard with 1428 points.
Despite having a successful career, where he has scored more than 1,000 raid points and also won the PKL trophy twice, Singh has never won the MVP award. Perhaps, the multi-point raid specialist will end his MVP drought in season 11.
#2 Mohammadreza Shadloui, Haryana Steelers
Iranian all-rounder Mohammadreza Shadloui won the Best Defender award in season 10, scoring 99 tackle points for Puneri Paltan. Many fans expected him to win the MVP award as well, but the organizers gave the award to Aslam Inamdar.
This year, Shadloui has moved from Puneri Paltan to Haryana Steelers. If he continues in the same vein in the left corner position and scores some more raid points, he can become the first foreigner to win the Most Valuable Player award in Pro Kabaddi history.
#3 Pawan Sehrawat, Telugu Titans
Pawan Sehrawat has won the Most Valuable Player award once before in his career. He was the MVP when the Bengaluru Bulls became champions for the first time in season six.
This year, Sehrawat is the skipper of the Telugu Titans. He was the Titans' skipper last season as well, and he did a decent job, scoring 202 raid points and 15 tackle points. Despite his all-round brilliance, the Titans finished last in the standings.
The Titans have assembled a stronger squad for season 11. Hence, if Sehrawat betters his performance and receives support from his teammates, he can not only win the MVP award but also lead the Titans to their maiden PKL trophy.
