Pro Kabaddi League 2017 Season 5: 5 Pirates from Patna opponents must be wary of

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With wins in the third and fourth seasons, the team would aim for a hat trick in the fifth season

A lot of Patna fans are unaware of the rationale behind the name 'Patna Pirates' for the franchise based in the capital of Bihar. With two successive Pro Kabaddi titles in their kitty, this time would be perfect to delve a little more into the team's name. Owned by KVS Energy and Sports Limited, the team has been named so because of the owners' beliefs that the spirit of a pirate lies in the spirit of not letting go, and using the environment to their advantage to strike the enemy by catching it off guard.

Under the guidance of the veteran Dharamraj Cheralathan, the team did exhibit the spirit of a true pirate as despite beginning the season as defending champions they looked the team to beat from the initial stages. There was hardly any let up in the intensity as they steamrolled one team after another before racing to the finals. Even before the first whistle of the final, there was little doubt who would go on to lift the coveted trophy, such was their dominance in the last season.

Ahead of the 5th season, things look a lot different from how they looked before the 4th. There is no Dharamraj Cheralathan and coach Arjun Singh too has been succeeded by Ram Mer Singh, who was the mentor of the team in their two glorious seasons.

More importantly, the core of the team has undergone a transformation and in a longer fifth season, it's not easy to label this team as the favourites. What remains, however, is the 'Pirates' spirit. The following five names will be extremely crucial to the team's chances of achieving the impossible seeming task of making three in three.

#1 Pardeep Narwal

Even before attaining his reputation in season 4, Narwal was the 'Emerging Player of the Season' in the 3rd edition

When Selina Kyle uttered 'There's a storm coming, Mr. Wayne', she definitely didn't mean a young jaat whose plump face can fool one to take him lightly. But storm is exactly what Narwal proved to be in the fourth season for his opponents.

He wasn't happy showing what he was capable of and winning the 'Emerging Player of the Season' award in the third edition. Instead, he set about decimating defenders in the fourth edition as if they had threatened to steal away the youngster's freshly prepared from Buffalo's milk lassi after the match.

And with a showing that put him just second to Rahul Chaudhari in the most successful raids statistic, he established himself as the player around whom the team shall revolve in the subsequent seasons for Patna.

Complacency and injuries are the only two enemies of an encore of last season from Narwal. Besides, while Narwal was the knight in the shining armour for the franchise, the importance of the supporting cast can't be emphasised enough. It will be interesting to see if Narwal can be the same destructive raider even in their absence.

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