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The fifth season of the Pro Kabaddi League is all set to kick off in Hyderabad today on Friday, with the opening match scheduled to begin at 8 pm. It will see home team Telugu Titans take on new entrants Tamil Thalaivas, in what promises to be an intriguing battle between two of the world's top raiders - Rahul Chaudhari and Ajay Thakur.
However, both teams will see a total of three star players miss out on the new season after being ruled out of the squad. The Telugu Titans will see two of their stars they signed at the auction not be a part of their final squad and have signed two replacements for them reportedly.
Also read: Pro Kabaddi 2017: Telugu Titans vs Tamil Thalaivas live streaming info, TV telecast info and preview
Sources close to Sportskeeda have confirmed the two players are Athul MS, a young raider who was signed for Rs 6 lakh as a New Young Player at the auction, and another raider Vikas Kumar, who was bought for Rs 12 lakh.
For the Tamil Thalaivas, another raider will miss out on being a part of the squad. Waleed Al Hasani, who has previously played six matches in Season 1 of the Pro Kabaddi League, will not be a part of the Chennai team after being signed for Rs 8 lakh at the player auction.
The Tamil side are yet to find a replacement reportedly for the man from Oman and the changes will soon reflect on the official Pro Kabaddi website in a short while.
Never the less, these developments are unlikely to seriously impact the teams' performances when they face off in the season opener at the Gachibowli Indoor Stadium this evening. Rahul Chaudhari, along with the likes of Rakesh Kumar and Rohit Rana, will have to be at their best if they are to come up trumps against a youthful Tamil Thalaivas lineup that consists of Ajay Thakur, Amit Hooda and C Arun.
The second match of the day will see a mouth-watering Maharashtra derby, with U Mumba taking on the Puneri Paltan. Anup Kumar will lead a strong raiding contingent against the Deepak Hooda's Pune side, which boasts of star names such as Sandeep Narwal, Rajesh Mondal and Dharmaraj Cheralathan.
Also read: Pro Kabaddi League 2017 Season 5: Tamil Thalaivas predicted starting line-up
