India's 2016 Kabaddi World Cup winning captain Anup Kumar is all set to return to the carpet after six years. Kumar retired from the Pro Kabaddi League in the 2018 season but will return for an exhibition match between PKL All Star Masters and PKL All Star Mavericks.
Lineups for the Mavericks and Masters were released on Monday, December 23. Anup Kumar will captain the Masters. The squad also includes former India captain Rakesh Kumar and current Bengal Warriors star Maninder Singh.
Sukesh Hegde and Jai Bhagwan also in the raid section of the team. The defense features current Tamil Thalaivas captain Nitesh Kumar, former U Mumba defender Jeeva Kumar and former Patna Pirates all-rounder Sandeep Narwal.
PKL All Star Masters team: Anup Kumar (c), Sukesh Hegde, Maninder Singh, Jai Bhagwan, Vishal Bhardwaj, Saurabh Nandal, Mohit Nandal, Rakesh Kumar, Ran Singh, Nitesh Kumar, Sandeep Narwal and Jeeva Kumar.
Anup Kumar vs Ajay Thakur to entertain Pro Kabaddi fans in Melbourne
While Kumar captains the PKL All Star Masters Squad, former Indian kabaddi team captain Ajay Thakur will lead the PKL All Star Mavericks. Thakur will lead the former team Jaipur Pink Panthers captain Deepak Hooda, Record Breaker Pardeep Narwal, PKL 11 costliest player Sachin Tanwar and other big names.
PKL All Stars Mavericks team: Ajay Thakur (c), Pardeep Narwal, Deepak Hooda, Sachin Tanwar, Nitin Rawal, Aditya Powar, Nitesh Kumar, Mayur Kadam, Priyank Chandel, Rakesh, Aadesh and Nitin.
On December 28, a match between PKL All Star Masters and PKL All Star Mavericks will be held at the John Kane Arena in Melbourne. The start time of the match is 14:00 IST. After that it will be a battle between Pro Kabaddi All Stars and Aussie Raiders.
Edited by Sankalp Srivastava