PKL 11 Patna Pirates: Team Profile
The Patna Pirates have a young and exciting outfit.
The Patna Pirates are the most successful team in the history of the Pro Kabaddi League, having clinched three consecutive titles: in the third, fourth and fifth editions. They had a certain Pardeep Narwal in their side, who went onto become the most prolific raider in the league’s history. However, after winning their third title, they have encountered mixed fortunes. They didn’t qualify for the playoffs in the next two seasons.
Patna Pirates finished at the top of the table in the eighth season, before losing to Dabang Delhi by a solitary point in the final. They finished at tenth place in the next edition. Last season, they finished sixth on the table with 50 points, winning half of their 22 matches. Patna then defeated Delhi in the Eliminator, before losing to eventual champions Puneri Paltan in the semifinal.
The team has bid adieu with a number of experienced players, in the form of Sachin Tanwar, Manjeet Dahiya, Krishan Dhull and Neeraj. They have welcomed back South Korean raider Jang Kun Lee. One of the first overseas stars of the league, Lee returns after a hiatus of three seasons. The Pirates also have a new look defence.
Let us now have a closer look at the strengths and weaknesses of the Patna Pirates, as they look to end the long wait of arguably the strongest fanbase of the league, for a fourth title.
Strengths
The defence consists of four strong players. Left corner Ankit Jaglan, who was retained prior to the auctions, amassed 66 tackle points in his debut season last time. Right corner Shubham Shinde (Bengal Warriors) and right cover Deepak Singh (Gujarat Giants) too put on strong performances last season. Left cover Gurdeep, who was an established name at the UP Yoddhas, is another high profile signing.
While Jang Kun Lee and Meetu Sharma, who were signed at the auction, bring their experience into this side, Patna Pirates had retained some exciting talent. The likes of M. Sudhakar and Sandeep Kumar showed glimpses of their immense potential last year. The franchisee will be hoping that they can further up their game in the upcoming edition.
Weaknesses
The raiding department lacks a big name, in the vein of Pawan Sehrawat, Naveen Kumar and Arjun Deshwal. They weren’t able to find a replacement for Sachin at the auction table. While the likes of Jang Kun Lee and Meetu Sharma don’t have any recent form to bank on, the likes of Sudhakar and Sandeep lack experience.
The defence has a new look, with only Ankit having been retained for the upcoming season. This in turn means that it might take some time for the players to gel together. Considering the fact that this is a defence-heavy side, the three-time champions will be hoping that the quartet of Shubham, Deepak, Gurdeep and Ankit can get their tactics right early-on.
Opportunities
The Patna Pirates have a young-looking outfit, going into the upcoming season. The players will surely be having a lot of hunger in their belly. Going in as underdogs, the team has a chance to make heads turn if they can fire as a unit.
With Sachin having been released, one of Sudhakar or Sandeep, if not both, is likely to get a lot of gametime. They have to make full use of their opportunities, in order to cement their place in the starting VII.
Both Ankit and Deepak had had their breakout seasons last time. In a position which has been occupied previously by the likes of Fazel Atrachali and Mohammedreza Chiyaneh Shadloui, Ankit now has a chance to try and carve out a legacy of his own. On the other hand, Deepak, who had scored 43 tackle points in 14 matches last edition for Gujarat, would want to prove that he is not a one-season wonder.
Threats
The team is a defense heavy line-up, which means the focus will be on not conceding points rather than scoring points. If the defensive combination does not click early, it could spell big trouble for the Pirates. Once a team concedes a deficit, it generally depends on raiders to reduce the gap, as defenders can score only one point (barring super tackles where they get two) in a raid.
The raiding department has a number of holes. Jang Kun Lee is playing PKL for the first time post the pandemic. Even during his time in the league, he never played the role of a strike raider. Meetu Sharma could score just 57 raid points in 22 matches last season for Delhi, despite getting opportunities by virtue of Naveen Kumar’s injury.
The Patna Pirates will be hoping that at least one raider can step up big time and deliver a big 200+ points season, thus providing adequate support to the defence.
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