Neeraj Kumar is a professional kabaddi player who has been newly incorporated in the team of Patna Pirates. This 23-year-old is a right corner defender kabaddi player who debuted the Vivo Pro Kabaddi League in season 5.
In the fifth season, he played for the team Haryana Steelers. In the auction held for the season 7 of the Pro Kabaddi League, he was bought by Patna Pirates by paying a hefty price of INR 44.75 lakh. The day two of the auction held in the month of April 2019 witnessed a scintillating day. Neeraj Kumar became the star of the event by being the most wanted player for the day. He was bought at the day’s highest auction price by Patna Pirates after being involved in a feud with Bengal Warriors, Gujurat Fortunegiants and Tamil Thalaivas. Patna Pirates jumped into the war when the bid price reached 30 Lakh and ended up winning him at last. He has also played for Service Sports Control Board.
Neeraj Kumar’s performance improvisation
Just being a part of a team isn’t enough, it’s more important to make the best player out of him.
it is a known fact that Patna Pirates works hard with its player and tries it best to improvise their performance. The Patna Pirates did the same for Neeraj Kumar, the newly added lad in the team. He like most other kabaddi players is a well-built man but was devoid of the needed speed. Patna Pirates has been working upon him to make him a defender that can play best in all positions.
Strength and Weakness of Neeraj Kumar
The strength of Neeraj Kumar lies in his humbleness and his body strength. He is a versatile player which will act as a key to his success as well as the teams.
Patna Pirates has been working on turning his weakness into strengths. He will be playing in the league for the first time for Patna Pirates. To make him excel over the mat, they are working upon his speed and the timing of tackles. Once he gains that, no doubt he will act as one of the prominent players of the team.
It would be exciting to see if the hefty auction fee paid by Patna Pirates for him will turn out to be a fruitful investment or not.
His overall performance in the league
As mentioned, Neeraj Kumar became the part of the league in season 5 and played for Haryana Steelers. He played a total of 17 matches for his team and was successful in adding 13 points on the board in the whole season. Played as a defender, his successful tackle strike rate was 26.53%. He has also earned one super tackle for his team.
In the current season i.e. season 7, he has played one match for Patna Pirates against Bengaluru Bulls and scored 2 tackle points turning his tackle strike rate to 40%. There is a lot more in store for him this season.
Apart from the league, he has also been an attacking player. He has collected a total of 5 points with an average out rate percentage of 8.33%.
Will Patna Pirates be able to turn him into a world-class defender by rightly judging his potential and making the best use of it?