PKL 2019: Analyzing the weakness of each team
The attention of the entire kabaddi universe is on the VIVO Pro Kabaddi League as the league begins its seventh edition tonight. The tournament had only 8 teams in the initial 4 seasons but, the success of the league forced the organizers to introduce new franchises and expand the tournament on the whole.
4 new teams - Gujarat Fortune Giants, Haryana Steelers, Tamil Thalaivas and U.P. Yoddha - have been introduced in PKL season 5. The teams played in a zonal format after the expansion. However, the league has switched back to its original round-robin format this year.
The kabaddi teams splashed out a lot of money in the pre-season auction to build a strong squad. Though every team wants an unbeatable unit, it is practically not possible to have all the stars in one team of a franchise-based league.
Like every season, some teams look strong while some look rather weak but, in the sport of kabaddi, anyone can spring a surprise on his day. With the tournament commencing tonight, let us have a look at the weakness of each side in PKL 7.
Bengal Warriors - Supporting raiders
Bengal Warriors could not qualify for the playoffs of PKL 6 hence, they reshuffled their team and brought in some new faces. The coaches have strengthened the defence by buying Jeeva Kumar, Rinku Narwal, Viraj Vishnu Langde and all-rounder Mohammad Nabhibaksh. However, the Kolkata-based franchise does not have a solid raiding attack.
K. Prapanjan and skipper Maninder Singh will have to shoulder the responsibility of the raid attack as Sukesh Hegde is not the raider he once was, while the other raiders are not so experienced.
Bengaluru Bulls - Defense
Bengaluru Bulls have one of the best raiding attacks of the tournament with the big names like Pawan Sehrawat and Rohit Kumar present. They also have Vinod Kumar and all-rounder Ashish Kumar who can chip in with crucial points.
But, the team's defence may struggle in season 7 because barring Mahender Singh no one has a good amount of experience. Raju Lal Choudhary has played a few games, still, he is not someone who will inflict fears in the minds of the raiders.