Pro Kabaddi League Season 9 Team Profile: Bengal Warriors

This time the champions of Season 7 are looking very strong.

Bengal Warriors are up for a treat this season. The Pro Kabaddi League (PKL) Champions of Season 7 are a new look side come Season 9. They have been making surprising moves ever since pre-auction. After a forgetful Season 8, the Warriors parted ways with their title-winning coach B.C. Ramesh. Ahead of Season 9, they appointed another title-winning coach in Kasinatha Baskaran.

Shri Baskaran Sir was the first ever coach to lift the PKL Trophy as he guided Jaipur Pink Panthers to glory. He has also worked at the grassroots level in the past. This will help Bengal Warriors in nurturing the young and inexperienced talent under their fold.

In this article, we take a look into the squad of the Bengal Warriors, and give our insights on their strengths and weaknesses, ahead of the PKL Season 9. We will also be suggesting some players that the Bengal Warriors fans should get excited about.

Strengths of the Bengal Warriors

Terrific Trio in the Raid Department

Two of the most-prolific raiders to ever play the VIVO PKL will don the Bengal Warriors Blue this season. Everyone is excited to watch the duo of Deepak Niwas Hooda and Maninder Singh playing together. Ahead of the auction, the Warriors' management retained their superstar raider, Maninder Singh. They let go the likes of Moein Nabibaksh, Sukesh Hegde, and Rishank Devadiga from the raiding department.

This paved the way for adding one more “Superstar” to bolster their roster. This “Superstar” came in the form of Deepak Niwas Hooda. The Bengal Warriors roped in the veteran All-Rounder during the auction for 43 Lacs. He has been playing in the Pro Kabaddi League ever since its inception. The amount of experience he has off his back is too much for a 28-year-old.

Additionally, the Warriors also bought in Shrikant Jadhav for 26 Lacs. Over the past two seasons, Shrikant has been off the hook due to injuries. The Warriors fans would be hoping for an injury-free Shrikant Jadhav going into the season. Surprisingly, Shrikant has played 99 matches in his PKL career. He has the experience and could come in handy throughout the season.

Not to forget that all three of Maninder, Deepak, and Shrikant have been the Do-Or-Die Raid Specialists for their respective teams in the past. You would expect at least one of them to bail the team out of pressure in such situations.

Backups in the raiding department include Ajinkya Kapre and Akash Pikalmunde, who would hope to help the team whenever needed.

Weaknesses of the Warriors

Inexperienced Cover Positions in Defense

At the auction table, Bengal Warriors went all out on acquiring quality corner defenders. It seemed they were off-track, as they bought top-quality left-corner defenders, one after the other. Surender Nada, Girish Maruti Ernak, and Amit Sheoran were roped in by the Warriors. It would be a “Selection headache” for Mr. Baskaran in the Left-Corner position. Meanwhile, on the right corner, they have acquired the services of Maharashtra defender Shubham Shinde.

But as we look at the team sheet of the Warriors, we will observe the absence of established cover defenders. All-Rounder Vinod Kumar and youngster Vaibhav Garje will compete for the right cover spot. Vaibhav Garje would be looking forward to impressing the coach and making his PKL Debut. After missing out on PKL Action last season, Vinod Kumar would be looking to make a comeback this season.

On the left cover, Iranian Soleiman Pahlevani would have to be the first choice for Bengal Warriors. Pahlevani has looked off-color while playing in the PKL. However, he hasn't played in his favorite position for the Gujarat Giants. Due to the presence of Sunil Kumar and Parvesh Bhainswal, Soleiman was deployed in the Left Corner position by Head Coach Manpreet Singh. He has struggled big time, to make his mark on the fans and coaches.

The Iranian had impressed everyone while playing on the Left Cover at the 2016 Kabaddi World Cup in Ahmedabad, and he would be hoping to do the once again, this time with Bengal Warriors. Due to the lack of depth in the left-cover position, there will be pressure on Pahlevani to deliver good performances game after game.

Players to watch out for

Shri Baskaran was the Head Coach of Maninder at Jaipur Pink Panthers. In the inaugural season of the VIVO Pro Kabaddi League, the duo attained glory as they won the trophy. A young Maninder Singh gave in some scintillating performances under Coach Baskaran, earning 137 points in 16 matches. The reunion of Maninder Singh and Head Coach Shri Baskaran is the one to watch out for this season. The duo would hope to repeat history by winning the PKL Title together for the second time.

Deepak Niwas Hooda and Surender Nada have worked under Baskaran Sir in the 2016 Kabaddi World Cup. They will be looking forward to teaming up with coach Baskaran, this time in Franchise Kabaddi.