PKL 8: Over reliance on Maninder Singh broke aspirations of Bengal Warriors

The Season 7 winners were disappointing in the defence of their title.

Bengal Warriors came into Season 8 of the Pro Kabaddi League (PKL) as defending champions. They began the league well too. However, the team lost their shine as the season ran its course. As a result, the defending champions could not secure playoffs qualification. Out of 22 matches, the Warrior managed to win only nine, lost 10 and tied three.

During the season, only Maninder Singh was a consistent performer from the squad. He was isolated, as the rest of the teammates could not provide the ideal support to their skipper. This was mainly the reason why the defending champions could not get close to the title this time around.

The negatives of the team 

One of the biggest negatives from the team was their lack of togetherness on the kabaddi floor. The skipper in Maninder Singh delivered a Super 10 in almost every other fixture, but the other raiders or defenders could not assist him ideally. Experienced players like Ran Singh and Vishal Mane could not perform well, as the defence made many mistakes in the season.

A statistic that sheds light on Bengal’s poor defensive performance is that they have no players in the top 20 defenders' list for PKL Season 8. Abozar Maighani was in 23rd place, after scoring 43 points in 22 matches. Because the defence was so weak, the team suffered several defeats and could not go into the playoffs.

The positives of the team

The biggest positive for the Bengal Warriors was that their skipper Maninder Singh delivered impressive performances. He scored 264 points in 22 matches during the PKL season. He was third in the list for most raid points scored by a player. In this situation, the team can put trust in the raider next season as well. While the team did not finish high, Maninder Singh should be happy with his personal performance. 

The players that disappointed

The Bengal Warriors had a very disappointing experience with Iranian all-rounder Mohammad Nabibakhsh. He had huge expectations riding on his shoulders, but could not replicate his performances from the previous campaign. Furthermore, his raiding saw him collect 108 points in 20 matches.  In defence, Nabibakhsh only secured 19 tackle points from those 20 outings, which was very underwhelming.

Apart from that, Ran Singh did not perform well either, as he could only manage 35 points in 14 matches. Vishal Mane, on the other hand, scored five points in six matches. Sukesh Hegde was also disappointing in the raiding department.

Players that performed exceptionally

While most of the players did not live up to expectations, there were a few that managed to shine. All-rounders like Rohit and Manoj Gowda scored 27 in 12 matches and 21 in six matches respectively. 

If these players develop and get more game-time, then certainly there will be better performances from them in the future.

Steps to take in upcoming season

Bengal Warriors should include a high-performing raider in their team next season, one who will provide good support to Maninder Singh. If the skipper gets out, then there should be someone to cover and bring in points. Another area that the team need to work on is defence. The department needs experienced players and the mistakes of this campaign must not be repeated in the next.  

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