Is Patna Pirates skipper Rakesh Kumar still on board in the Pro Kabbadi League?

The fate of top kabaddi player and Patna Pirates skipper Rakesh Kumar, is hanging in the balance. Last week it was reported that Kumar alleged foul play when he was kept away from matches on account of an injury he sustained during a match with Telugu Titans in the Pro Kabaddi League (PKL).

Kumar claimed his injury was used as an excuse to keep him out. In a curious turn of events, all queries relating to whether Kumar is still with Patna Pirates or not was met with a standard ‘He’s injured’ response by PKL representatives. Is he coming back? "He’s injured." Is he still on board? ‘He’s injured." Has he been fired? "He’s injured". Kumar himself has gone off the radar. His cell phone is almost always switched off.

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At Rs 12.80 lakh, Kumar won the highest bid at the players’ auction last year. Back then, Rajesh Shah, owner of Patna Pirates and co-Chairman and Managing Director, Mukand Ltd said, "The coach said he (Rakesh) was good and that’s enough for me. If a player has the skill and capability, he deserves this kind of money for a 40-day competition."

But since this current controversy, Shah has maintained a studious silence and instead sent word via a spokesperson that he is "contractually bound to refrain from commenting on the happenings in his team".

Earlier reports quoted Kumar saying that he was taken by surprise and shown the door from the team, using his injury as an excuse. He was apparently told to rest for two days, but was never recalled. In fact, it is reported that he was cut off from all communication from the team.

Where does this leave Kumar? To use a kabaddi analogy, in no man’s land.

"The coach said he (Rakesh, right) was good and that’s enough for me" — Patna Pirates owner Rajesh Shah (left) in 2014