PKL 11 Jaipur Pink Panthers: Team Profile

The Jaipur Pink Panthers begin their campaign on October 20, against the Bengal Warriorz.

The inaugural champions, Jaipur Pink Panthers, have built a quality squad in search of their third title in season 11 of the Pro Kabaddi League. Having entered last season as the defending champions, the Pink Panthers were spectacular throughout the season only to be stopped by Haryana Steelers in the semifinals.

The Panthers set high standards for themselves and released most of their squad, retaining only five players. It was a surprise for many, given the way they invested in a few youngsters in the last few seasons. But coach Sanjeev Kumal Baliyan seems to have other ideas as they opted for experience this season roping in multiple veterans into their squad.

On that note, let’s analyze the Jaipur Pink Panthers‘ squad to identify their strengths and weaknesses in PKL 11.

Strengths:

They say nothing can buy experience and the two-time champions ensured they added it with the buys of Surjeet Singh and Ravi Kumar who has been playing in the league for the last eight years. Not only in the defense the addition of Shrikant Jadhav, Neeraj Narwal, and Vikas Kandola speaks volumes about the amount of experience the squad will possess.

With the league adopting a three-city caravan format for the season, dual matches are scheduled for every day. Teams have to be on their toes with back-to-back matches and these experienced players will come in handy to deal with the same. With tons of experience, the opposition should be wary of the Panthers as they boast some of the former PKL captains.

Weaknesses:

Although Jaipur made it to the finals twice in the first four seasons including a title, they were inconsistent in other seasons. They had success when they had multiple Raiders scoring points in a heap. While it was Jasvir Singh and Maninder Singh in the first season, it was Arjun Deshwal, Ajith Kumar, and Bhavani Rajput who contributed to the title in season nine.

This season will see a new set of players joining Arjun Deshwal to have a shot at the title. The likes of Vikas Kandola, Shrikant Jadhav, and Neeraj Narwal are coming off a disappointing season having scored less than 100 points in their previous season. The inaugural champions would want these players to step up if not then the team will be asking too much from Arjun which will be taxing for the 25-year-old.

Opportunities:

Surjeet Singh, the most successful Indian defender in the history of the league has been a part of six PKL teams in eight seasons, during which he has scored 400+ tackle points. He has also been a captain of the side for five consecutive teams from season five to season nine with Bengal Warriorz, Puneri Paltan, Tamil Thalaivas, and Telugu Titans respectively.

Despite all these accolades, Surjeet hasn’t been able to lay his hands on the PKL trophy. His best finish has been a third-place finish in season five with Bengal. The 34-year-old is in the last stage of his career and this season presents an opportunity for the right-cover defender to finally lift the title. With a strong squad of Pink Panthers, Surjeet would want to give his contribution to etch his name as a PKL champion.

Threats:

Kabaddi is a sport that deals with hunting in pairs / as a team. The team of seven will pounce on a raider to bring him down. The players will have to be synchronous to have a higher success rate in defense. Having done a revamp to their squad, the Pink Panthers will look to build the sync from scratch.

From appointing a new skipper for the season to restructuring their corner and cover combination to finally setting up a new attacking trio, the two-time champions will be a new look side. While they have got the team on paper, Sanjeev Baliyan-coached side would be hoping to see positive results on the mat as well. If results in the first few games don’t go their way, the men in Pink will have a long season.

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