Vizag, Aug 31 (IANS) Former Pro Kabaddi League star Rishank Devadiga weighed in on Gujarat Giants captain Mohammadreza Shadloui’s leadership, particularly during his last-ditch raid in the tiebreaker against U Mumba in PKL 12, saying the Iranian played with bit of overconfidence and looked clueless at times.

Gujarat Giants kicked off our PKL 12 campaign with a spirited fight against U Mumba, falling agonisingly short in a nerve-wracking tie-breaker. After a 29-29 deadlock at full time, the contest went down to the wire before the opposition edged it 6-5 in the tie-breaker.

“There was definitely a bit of overconfidence in him. Shadloui was under pressure and looked clueless at times. And as captain, he should have read the game much better. During that last raid by Shadloui, Sunil came forward willing to concede a point, and Shadloui should have accepted it with both hands,” Devadiga said on JioHotstar.

Another JioStar expert Sunil Taneja reflected on Shadloui’s bold pre-match claim of being the best and explained how U Mumba captain Sunil Kumar proved him wrong on the mat.

“I had met Sunil post today’s match, while he was receiving his award. I congratulated him, and he repeated the same thing to me that he had said on the mic. Shadloui had told him, ‘I am the best.’ But how can you just claim to be the best? The matches decide who the best is. And people like Sunil don’t mess with anyone — but if you mess with them, they won’t spare you,” he said.

Taneja compared Shadloui’s captaincy and UP Yoddhas captain Sumit Sangwan in their PKL 12 openers, saying, “Shadloui is a new captain, and so is Sumit Sangwan. The difference was clear — Shadloui looked rattled under pressure, while Sumit played with a cool head and registered 8 points in the very first match of the season (Match 3 against Telugu Titans).

“When you take on the captaincy role, especially as a left corner, it comes with big responsibility. This time, Nitesh wasn’t there, and Hitesh stepped in. It was the same case last season too, but even with a new partner, you can’t afford to show fear as a captain. Sumit executed brilliant tackles, and across the entire match, he was dismissed only once. That’s how a captain leads from the front.”

The Giants now shift their focus on Monday’s clash with Puneri Paltan.

–IANS

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