Pro Kabaddi League 2017: Meet the captains of all 12 teams

New Delhi, July 27: The highly anticipated fifth season of the Pro Kabaddi League (PKL) will start from Friday (July 28) which is going to be bigger and better this time.

PKL 5: Full Schedule PKL 5: Full Schedule

The PKL 2017, will see 12 teams locking horns with each other for a period of three months before we get a winner.

The organisers have added four new teams in the league making it more intense.

The four new teams Haryana Steelers, Tamil Thalaivas, Gujarat Fortunegiants and UP Yoddha will join U Mumba, Jaipur Pink Panthers, Patna Pirates, Dabang Delhi, Bengal Warriors, Telugu Titans, Puneri Paltan and Bengaluru Bulls in the league.

In the new format, 12 teams have been divided into two zones of six teams each, where each of them will play 15 intra-zone and seven inter-zone matches, prior to the play-offs.

The new format will test every team in the league and to prepare themselves better in the tournament every franchise has picked up best players in the business as their captain.

Some teams have retained their previous captains while others surprised with their choice of skippers for such players will be shouldering the responsibility of team leads for the first time.

Here are the 12 captains of the PKL 5:

1. Anup Kumar (U Mumba)

He has been the captain of the franchise since the very first season. The 'Captain Cool' has already led U Mumba to a title win in season 3 and the franchise could fancy their chances of lifting their second title. He has so far scored 411 points, in which he scored 377 raid points.

2. Rahul Chaudhari (Telugu Titans)

He is the most successful raider in the history of the league. Often dubbed as the poster boy of the PKL, the star raider of Telugu Titans will be leading the side again.

Chaudhari has 517 points in the league and won Most valuable player of the season award twice.

Manjeet Chhillar (Jaipur Pink Panthers)

The star all-rounder will be leading the inaugural season champions in the fifth season. This is the first time when Manjeet will be playing for Pink Panthers. The senior member of the national kabaddi team has scored 334 points in the three seasons of Star Sports Pro Kabaddi so far.

He was the captain of Puneri Paltan in the previous season.

Surender Nada (Haryana Steelers)

One of the most feared defenders in the history of the PKL, Surender Nada has been named the captain of the debutant franchise Haryana Steelers.

The 27-year-old Surender, a left corner defender has appeared in 49 matches in PKL, scoring 156 points. He had earlier plied his trade for the Bengaluru Bulls. Srender's compatriot Wazir Singh was named his deputy.

Pardeep Narwal (Patna Pirates)

Pardeep Narwal has been a star raider for Patna Pirates in the tournament. He played a crucial role in Pirates' triumph in fourth edition of the tournament. The 'Dubki King' has earned 263 points in 38 games he has played.

6. Rohit Kumar (Bengaluru Bulls)

Rohit Kumar will be leading the Bengaluru Bulls in the fifth edition of the tournament.

The star raider, who went through a troubled phase in his personal life, is still considered a dangerous player and the whopping Rs 81 lakh bid for his is a testimony to that.

Rohit has scored 209 raid points in the league so far.

Ajay Thakur (Tamil Thalaivas)

He was the star raider in the Indian squad that defeated Iran in last year's Kabaddi World Cup. The Himachal Pradesh-based raider will be leading Sachin Tendulkar-owned Tamil Thalaivas. Ajay has scored 327 points in the PKL so far.

Sukesh Hedge (Gujarat Fortune Giants)

Debutants Gujarat Fortune Giants have given Sukesh Hegde the responsibility of the team in the upcoming season. Gujarat also picked star defender Fazel Atrachali in the priority pick allowed to every team.

Nitin Tomar (UP Yoddha)

Raider Nitin Tomar shattered all records when emerged as the costliest-ever player to be bought in the Pro Kabaddi League (PKL) auction. He was snapped for a whopping Rs 93 lakh by GMR-owned UP Yoddha.

After missing the first two seasons, Tomar has claimed 115 points. He will be leading the team in it's debut season.

Meeraj Sheykh (Dabang Delhi)

Iranian player Meeraj Sheykh, was retained by Dabang Delhi, and will be leading the franchise in PKL 5. In 42 matches, he has 119 raid points and a sum of 42 defence points.

Jang Kun Lee (Bengal Warriors)

The Korean raider, who was retained by the franchise for Rs 80.30 lakhs, has been named the captain of Bengal Warriors. In 51 matches, the Korean star raider has earned 262 points.