India is once again drenched in the colors of Pro Kabaddi, as the sixth edition of the league starts from the 7th of October in Chennai, Tamil Nadu. Super fun and exciting, the upcoming three months are going to be spectacular.
Twelve teams from every corner of the nation will compete for "the trophy". It will all come down to that final match, which will take place in Mumbai on the 5th of January.
Gujarat Fortune Giants is one of the twelve teams, based in Ahmedabad. The team was led by Sukesh Hegde in season 5 and coached by Manpreet Singh. The team is owned by Adani Wilmar Ltd. They play their matches at The Arena in Ahmedabad.
Giants made their debut in season 5 and also played the finals against Patna Pirates, which was stellar. Eventually, they lost to the pirates in that match. Gujarat played wonderfully since the beginning of the season. They had a proper balance of both experienced and young. Even the offense and defense of the team was spot on.
Despite having such a great past, there are a few glitches which can make it difficult for them to win the league. Let's see what they are:
#1 A very young and inexperienced captain
Gujarat declared the young Sunil Kumar as their captain. His performance was excellent last season without a doubt, but leading such a big squad is extremely difficult.
Captains go through a lot of pressure throughout the tournament and handing over this responsibility to a player so young can backfire for the team.
Players like Mahendra Rajput and Ajay Kumar were great contenders for the captain's position given that they have been playing in the league since really long.
#2 Lack of experience in the team
If we count, the number of experienced players on the team is less. We have just Mahendra Rajput, Ajay Kumar, and Hadi Ostorak as the only experienced ones on the team.
Young players can do wonders, but simply relying on this fact won't help a bit. Coach Manpreet Singh firmly believes that young players are the key to success in PKL, which is not wrong, but one can't be sure.
#3 Overconfidence will harm the team
There is no doubt in the fact that Gujarat lost the finals from Patna last season because of overconfidence. It is said, "Confidence is good, but overconfidence always sinks the ship." Manpreet Singh never shied away from making cheeky comments about Patna Pirates.
Well, such an arrogant attitude will automatically lead anyone to the downfall. Past matches are just records, but the way one plays in the present matters. If they want to win season 6 of the league, Manpreet Singh should drop that cocky attitude.
#4 Defence lineup disappointing as compared to that of last season
Fazel Atrachali and Abozar Mighani, two of the greatest defenders of the league literally set the mat on fire last season. They were probably the deadliest duo of season 5 from Gujarat. This time, there is almost no recognized face in the defenders' lineup.
Gujarat's franchise retained Parwesh Bhaiswal from the last season, which makes him the only known defender. It is easily visible that Parwesh doesn't have much experience. Well, most of the points revolving around Gujarat in this article targets on inexperience and the lack of stability.
#5 Sachin under pressure to deliver for the Giants' squad
Sachin is an obvious cracker-jack. He played his debut season from Gujarat and was impeccable. The roars of "Sachin...Sachin..." all across the stadium gave us some nostalgic cricket vibes. In short, Sachin is undoubtedly a great player, but he has great pressure to perform in the upcoming season.
He was compared with the likes of Pardeep Narwal priorly and now, he is one of the substantial raiders from Gujarat. He will face difficulty because pressure can be very stressful.