Pro Kabaddi 2019: 3 changes Telugu Titans need to implement to turn their season around

Telugu Titans’ PKL 2019 campaign has got off to one of the worst starts in the team’s history as the Hyderabad-based franchise could not register a single win in their home leg. Despite having a strong side, the Titans faltered in all the 4 home matches they played, leaving the home fans disappointed.

The raiding attack of Telugu Titans appeared to be overdependent on Siddharth Desai. However, his cousin brother, Suraj tried to ensure Siddharth does not have to fight like a lone warrior.

Though the Titans have lost their first 4 matches, they still have 18 more matches to play. With the new format allowing 6 teams to qualify for the 2nd round, Telugu Titans still have a strong chance of progressing to the playoffs. They need to tinker their playing seven a bit besides changing some strategies as well.

So, here are the 3 changes that Telugu Titans need to make to get back to winning ways:

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#3 Play Rajnish as the third raider

Rajnish scored 11 points in the first 2 matches

If one has a closer look at the best raiding attacks of the tournament like Patna Pirates (Pardeep Narwal, Mohammad Esmaeil and Jang Kun Lee), Tamil Thalaivas (Ajay Thakur, Rahul Chaudhari and Shabeer Bappu), Bengal Warriors (Maninder Singh, Mohammad Nabibakhsh and K. Prapanjan), all the three raiding units have three raiders each.

Not all raiders manage to bring the same quality to the table but they do indeed give the much-needed stability to the team balance. Telugu Titans initially planned to use Siddharth Desai as their first raider and Rajnish as his partner. When Desai failed in the first game, Rajnish scored 7 raid points for his team. Even in the next game, Rajnish finished with 4 points.

However, when the management decided to play Suraj Desai in place of Rajnish and Suraj did well, they dropped Rajnish from the team. The team management preferred the likes of Palle Mallikarjun and Armaan ahead of Rajnish. It was not that Rajnish got injured; he was in the list of substitutes yet Titans did not use him.

If Telugu Titans want to win, they need to have an established three-dimensional raiding attack featuring Siddharth Desai, Suraj Desai and Rajnish.

#2 Have Akash take the right corner, play Abozar Mighani as a right cover

Abozar Mighani has failed miserably this year

One of the biggest letdowns for Telugu Titans fans was the performance of their captain, Abozar Mighani at the right corner position. The Iranian defender could only score 5 tackle points in the 4 matches he played.

While a defender of his caliber is expected to score High 5s and lead his team from the front, Abozar could not do so. Add to that, the 12 unsuccessful tackle attempts by Abozar and one can learn of his poor form. Being the skipper of the team, he needs to improve his performance either by practicing hard or by changing his position.

The fans know Abozar can play well at the right cover position as well and the Titans need a good right cover defender. Since Telugu Titans have already tried out a bunch of youngsters, they can also try out a new player, Akash Choudhary as the right corner defender.

The fans have seen a plethora of youngsters make a name for themselves in the Pro Kabaddi League and Akash can be the next member of that elite list.

#1 Change the team's captain

Is it time that the Telugu Titans consider crowning a new captain?

Abozar Mighani, the team’s captain committed strategic errors in the home leg of the team. For example, in the match against Dabang Delhi K.C., he sent the inexperienced player, Armaan to raid in the final moments when Siddharth Desai was on court. Armaan failed in that raid and then Telugu Titans lost the match by just one point.

This shows that the team needs a new captain now, someone who can prepare fantastic strategies and make the most out of the players he has. Now, Telugu Titans do not have a flurry of captaincy options like Tamil Thalaivas but, they can obviously assign the captaincy role to someone who has a good experience.

Since the Hyderabad-based franchise’s coach, Gholamreza Mazandarani is an Iranian, the fans can expect Farhad Milaghardan to take over the reins of the team. Among the Indian names, C. Arun has an experience of playing in 72 PKL matches which means he would have a good knowledge of the game. Also, the team’s previous captain, Vishal Bhardwaj can be considered for this role.

As nothing was working for the team under Abozar’s captaincy, a change in the leadership could help in rejuvenating the side.

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