Asian Kabaddi C'ships 2023: Naveen Kumar, Pawan Sehrawat headline Indian team; former captain Deepak misses out

New Delhi [India], May 24 : The Indian squad will be led by star raiders Naveen Kumar and Pawan Sehrawat at the Asian Kabaddi Championship 2023, which will be held next month in Busan, Republic of Korea.

India has named a 12-man kabaddi team for the continental kabaddi event, which will be held after a six-year hiatus from June 27-30.

Pardeep Narwal, the Pro Kabaddi League's all-time leading raider, has not been picked to the roster. Deepak Niwas Hooda, the previous captain of India's kabaddi team, has also been left out.

The trials for the Indian Kabaddi team for the Asian Kabaddi Championship were held last week at the Patliputra Sports Complex in Patna, Bihar, as per Olympics.com.

Other significant names that did not make the Indian squad included Surender Gill, Surender Nada, Girish Maruti Ernak, Siddharth Desai, Maninder Singh, Ravinder Pahal, and Mahender Singh.

Arjun Deshwal, the top raider from PKL season 9, will join seasoned raiders Naveen Kumar and Pawan Sehrawat to reinforce the offensive.

Pawan Sehrawat will return from an injury that kept him out of the PKL last season.

Veteran Surjeet Singh and Nitesh Kumar will help the defence.

Defenders Sunil Kumar, Parvesh Bhainswal, Vishal Bhardwaj, and all-rounder Nitin Rawal have also been named to the kabaddi team.

Former national coach Bhaskaran Edachery will manage the Indian kabaddi team. Coaches have been announced as Ashan Kumar and Sanjeev Kumar.

The Indian kabaddi squad is the most successful in the Asian Kabaddi Championship's history, having won seven gold medals in the eight editions played so far.

India is the incumbent champion, having defeated Pakistan in the final in Gorgan, Iran, in 2017.

Indian kabaddi team: Arjun Deshwal, Naveen Kumar, Sachin, Aslam Inamdar, Mohit Goyat, Sunil Kumar, Parvesh Bhainswal, Nitin Rawal, Nitesh Kumar, Surjeet Singh, Vishal Bhardwaj, Pawan Sehrawat

Stand-by players: Vijay Malik, Shubham Shinde

Coaches: Ashan Kumar, Sanjeev Kumar

Manager: Bhaskaran Edachery.