New Delhi: Bengal Warriorz are one of the few teams that have missed the playoffs for the last four consecutive years. But now, Warriorz have reshaped their squad by acquiring some top players ahead of the Pro Kabaddi League (PKL) season 12, starting on August 29, Friday.
The Bengal franchise replaced their former head coach, Prashant Surve, after a pathetic last season with just five wins in 22 matches. The gold-medal-winning coach, Naveen Kumar, was announced as the new head coach for Warriorz, and Praveen Malik will serve as the assistant coach for the new season.
With their poor performance in the last edition, Warriorz were the busiest team in the PKL 12 auction after releasing their major players before their squad.
Bengal Warriorz’s strength
Warriorz revamped their raiding unit as they acquired star raider Devank Dalal for a whopping amount of Rs 2.205 crore. Iranian raider Omid Khojasteh Mohammadshah, Sushil Kambrekar, Vishvas S, Manprit, Punit Kumar, and Rachit Kumar will feature in the raiding department.
They also bring back their iconic Korean star Jang Kun Lee to strengthen their raiding options. Devank was the stand-out performer in the last edition as he was the best raider with 301 raid points in 24 matches.
Bengal Warriorz’s weakness
The defence unit will be a concern for the franchise as they released their star defender, Fazal Atrachali, ahead of the new season, but couldn’t buy any experienced defender into their squad from the PKL 12 auction.
Warriorz exercised their Final Bid Match (FBM) options to retain Nitesh Kumar and Mayur Jagannath, but the inexperience in the squad will be an area of concern for the franchise.
Bengal Warriorz’s opportunities
Warriorz have plenty of young, inexperienced players in their squad. But the major opportunity will be for star raider Devank, who had a breakthrough season last year and will aim to continue his dominance in season 12 also.
Sushil Kambreakar also showed a glimpse of his talent in the last season, but was forced to pull out from the season mid-way due to an injury. This time, Sushil will be looking to make a mark in the raiding unit with Devank.
Bengal Warriorz’s Threat
Apart from their inexperienced defence unit, the main threat to the franchise will be not having a proper all-rounder in the squad.
Warriorz will depend heavily on their raiding unit and especially on Devank, but if Devank fails to do the job, then the chances will be sky high that Bengal will miss the playoffs for the fifth consecutive time.