Gujarat Giants in action during season 8 of Pro Kabaddi League. Image credit: Pro Kabaddi
Gujarat Giants are among the late entrants in the Pro Kabaddi League (PKL), having been originally introduced in the fifth season (2017) as Gujarat Fortunegiants.
The Adani Wilmar-owned side, however, among the most consistent teams in the history of the elite Kabaddi tournament with one of the highest success rates. The side currently led by Sunil Kumar Malik and coached by Manpreet Singh finished runners-up in each of the first two seasons after finishing on top of their group. They stuttered in the final hurdle though on both occasions, losing to Patna Pirates and Bengaluru Bulls respectively, the latter collecting their first title.
Gujarat had an underwhelming run in the seventh season for a change as they finished ninth in a 12-team table, winning their first three games on the trot before losing the next six and eventually finishing with seven wins out of 22 games.
The disappointment of 2019 however, turned out to be a one-off for the side as they would reach the playoffs once again once the tournament returned to action in 2021-22. The side went as far as Eliminator 2 before bowing out after a 29-49 loss to Bengaluru Bulls.
Raider Sonu was Gujarat’s Elite Retained Player in the Player Auction this year while the side went for Koreans Dong Geon Lee and Young Chang Ko for Rs 20 lakh and 10 lakh respectively among their notable purchases. They also shelled out Rs 40 lakh for Bengal Warriors defender Rinku Narwal, their most expensive purchase of the auction.
PKL auction: Who went where and for how much – complete list of players sold
Gujarat Giants Season by Season results
Season 5 – Runners-up (Zone A toppers)
Season 6 – Runners-up (Zone A toppers)
Season 7 – Ninth Position
Season 8 – Fourth Position (Eliminator 2)
Gujarat Giants squad:
Raiders: Chandran Ranjit, Mahendra Rajput, Dong Geon Lee, Purna Singh, Sonu, Pardeep Kumar, Rakesh, Gaurav Chhikara, Sohit, Sonu Singh, Sawin
Defenders: Vinod Kumar, Young Chang Ko, Rinku Narwal, Baldev Singh, Sourav Gulia, Sandeep Kandola, Manuj, Kapil, Ujjval Singh
All-rounders: Arkam Shaikh, Parteek Dhaiya, Rohan Singh, Shankar Gadai
Gujarat Giants Schedule:
8 October Gujarat Giants vs Telugu Titans