From fragile to a force upfront, how Dabang Delhi turned it around in Pro Kabaddi
Some major re-shuffling and three training camps in the pre-season preceded Dabang Delhi’s opener in the ongoing season of the Pro Kabaddi League. While the squad seemed upbeat, there was this persistent concern about their raiding.
The experienced and reliable Surjeet Narwal had suffered a sprain during the National Games in Trivandrum earlier this year and as has been the case, was doubtful for the start of the season. Joint top scorer from last year-Kashiling Adike was supposed to take over the mantle but the concern was did Delhi have enough depth to support him?
The first match re-affirmed those doubts. Not only the raiders struggled, both Kashi and the newly recruited Rohit Chowdhury sat out for considerable time and if not for some inspired defending by Ravinder Pahal, the scoreline could have exhibited a bigger margin.
What precisely has Coach Honnappa done over the last couple of days and matches then? 30+points in both games with both Rohit and Kashi scoring in double digits, surely something had been tinkered with.
It’s worth mentioning here that Rahul Chaudhuri got Kashi out with his first raid in the opener. Seems the management has taken a conscious decision to shield the raiders in defence ever since. Two nights in a row now, we see the Amit Chillars and Jasmer Gulias going for the half-tackles, not risking either Rohit and Kashi in the process.
The two of them have had prolonged court time and the results are here for everyone to see. While we reached out to the players, they remained unavailable for comment but the management confirmed, “We definitely have been working on it, it’s essential for us to use them in the best possible way.”
5 awards in total have been scalped by the Dabang raiders in the last 2 game nights, the tactical acumen of Honnappa which was initially challenged, is definitely being taken more seriously now.