After a spectacular last season in the third edition of the Star Sports Pro Kabaddi, the Patna Pirates will be raring to go up against the Puneri Paltans on 27 June to kick off their title defence in Pro Kabaddi League season 4. The team whose strongest suit has been their consistency over the past three seasons will hope that they can bring their form of last season to this season as well and do what no team in the tournament has managed to achieve – defend the title.
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Although, after their stellar show last season, most of the players of the team were snapped up by other franchises in the auction, leading to a major shift in the team’s composition this season, leaving their fans a little unhappy. However, the new look Patna Pirates, led by the 41-year-old veteran Dharamaraj Cheralathan still look good enough on paper to reach the top four, from where it is anyone’s game.
Here is a look at what all can work for and work against the team owned by KVS Energy and Sports Limited.
Strengths
The fact that the fourth edition of the League is happening within 5 months of the third proves slightly advantageous for the Pirates as they will not only come into the tournament with the favorites tag but also the momentum.
The team was in stupendous form last year and finished only below the ever consistent U Mumba with 10 wins in 14 matches in the league stage and then pipped them in an enthralling final to run away with the title.
The team also comes into the tournament with a certain reputation for they have a good experience of handling pressure as they featured in the semi-finals of all the seasons. Besides, the defence of Patna Pirates will be the one to watch out for as the team has brought in some of the best defenders to the side through the auctions. A defence that boasts of Fazel Atrachali, Bajirao Hodage and Dharamaraj Cheralathan can squeeze the life out the raiders of any team in the league.
Weaknesses
The complexion of the team has drastically changed from the last season and to nitpick weaknesses of a unit that hasn’t played much together is difficult. But that’s where their major weakness lies.
The team, no matter how strong it looks on paper, is yet to play as a unit. The team will be missing most of the star names that won them the title last season and in the absence of the core, the composition looks quite hollow despite some good reinforcements in the form of Bajirao Hodage and Fazel Atrachali.
Also, Sandeep Narwal was spectacular in the last season and his presence will be missed as the team doesn’t boast of an all rounder of the experienced Narwal’s calibre.
Dharamaraj Cheralathan will have big shoes to fill as he would replace Manpreet Singh as the skipper of the side who was exceptional in handling leadership duties last season. Another major weakness that a cursory glance at the squad would reveal is the absence of backup raiders.
Opportunities
The team has the opportunity to break the defending champions’ jinx and bag two back to back titles in 2016. Besides, their captain had a forgettable season with Telugu Titans and yet owing to his vast experience has been handed the responsibility of leading the defending champions. It will be a great opportunity for him to improve his record as a captain with a much stronger side at his disposal.
The vastly talented Pardeep Narwal at the age of 19 will be itching to prove that his performance last season was no flash in the pan and he is a raider as good as any in the league.
He was one of the two who was retained by the management ahead of the auctions, the other being Rajesh Mondal. The Iranian duo of Fazel Atrachali and Hadi Oshtorok have been under utilised to say the least by their previous owners most of the time and they have a great opportunity to become regulars in the Patna outfit.
Threats
The team, currently wearing the champions crown, will have to guard against complacency. There will also be huge expectations from the yellow and green donning Pirates as they have performed appreciably well in all seasons.
Another threat to the team comes from the fact that the side boasts of many big names and it will be a major challenge for the captain and the coach to get them all to gel well.
