PKL 9: PKL winner Mohit Chhillar raises questions over Patna Pirates coach

Patna Pirates lost their 3rd game in a row.

Patna Pirates lost to Bengal Warriors on Saturday in what was a one sided affair in season 9 of the Pro Kabaddi League (PKL) at the Shree Kanteerava Indoor Stadium. The Bengal Warriors completed a hat trick of wins in the season by defeating the Patna Pirates 54-26. They had lost their first game. Maninder Singh and Shrikant Jadhav led the charge for the Bengal franchise, scoring 12 and 9 raid points, respectively.

Patna Pirates on the other hand was too reliant on Sachin Tanwar as he scored 12 points in the game but got absolutely no support from any of his teammates. This was Pirates' third straight loss of the season after they tied their first game. Patna's defense as well as their support raiders are looking off colour and it doesn't seem like they are the same team who topped the league stage last season and was the runner-up.

This prompted veteran defender Mohit Chhillar to question Patna Pirates' strategy in season 9. Mohit in a discussion during a show named 'Bol Kabaddi Khel Kabaddi' on Khel Now TV YouTube channel said that Patna is lacking a balance in their squad, "I don't think Patna did tried any combinations in the pre season camp, the coach seems to be completely lost while the game is on, he doesn't motivate his players, whenever we look at him during the game, it just feels like he is disappointed by the outcome rather than having any plans".

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Patna's defense was their biggest strength last season but in this season it has not fired till now as a unit, "Sunil was playing well before Shadlu came in, but since Shadlu's come back into the side, his form has dipped too, while Neeraj hasn't been able to lead his team well. There are more unsuccessful tackles, their strike rate is pretty low", Mohit further said on the show.

Patna is struggling in the raiding department as well. Last season they had the likes of Monu Goyat, Prashant Kumar Rai and Guman Singh to assist Sachin but this year Rohit Gulia and other youngsters have failed to step up. "Patna Pirates should have gone for somebody like Deepak Hooda in the auction, or even maybe Rahul Chaudhari, they would have brought experience in the side. Right now, Sachin is the only raider in their squad, and Rohit Gulia is not performing as per expectations".

Patna Pirates' head coach Ravi Shetty was involved with U Mumba when U Mumba won the 2nd season. He was the assistant coach back then and Mohit Chhillar was part of that team. Mohit therefore also wondered why Patna's head coach is not utilising his experience and giving his team important inputs, "he has been around for 9 years now, but it doesn't seem like that, he looks clueless", Mohit further said.

Patna definitely needs to go back to drawing board and need to evaluate things if they have to get their first win of the season.