Mumbai, Aug 6 (UNI) Pro Kabaddi League Season 7 champions Bengal Warriorz will aim to return to the PKL Season 12 Playoffs after four consecutive editions of league stage exits.
Ahead of Season 12, the Warriorz parted ways with former head coach Prashant Surve after finishing 10th last season with just five wins in 22 matches. They appointed former India international and gold medal-winning coach Naveen Kumar, who led Telugu Titans as head coach in Season 5, as their new head coach, with Praveen Malik as assistant coach for the upcoming season.
The Warriorz’s raiding unit is likely to be it’s strength in the Pro Kabaddi Season 12. They bolstered their attack by roping in PKL Season 11’s standout raider Devank Dalal for a INR 2.205 crore at the Season 12 Player Auction.
Iranian raider Omid Khojasteh Mohammadshah, along with Indian raiders Sushil Kambrekar, Vishwas S, Manprit, Punit Kumar, and Rachit Kumar, will be among the key options in the Warriorz’ attack as they look to make their mark in the upcoming season.
The Warriorz have also brought back Korean star raider Jang Kun Lee, the Scorpion Kick King, and acquired Himanshu at the auction to further bolster their raiding unit.
The relative in experience of the defenders could potentially hurt the Warriorz in Season 12. While the Warriorz exercised their Final Bid Match (FBM) options at the auction to retain their star defenders Nitesh Kumar and Mayur Jagannath Kadam for one season each, the PKL Season 7 winners seem to have an inexperienced defensive unit on paper.
Additionally, the Warriorz are also short of all-rounders in their PKL Season 12 squad. Shivansh Thakur and the debutant Moolchandra Singh are the two all-rounders in the squad on paper for the forthcoming campaign.
The Warriorz have plenty of young talents who will look to impress in the Pro Kabaddi Season 12.
After a breakthrough season, Devank will aim to continue his dominance on the mat in the Pro Kabaddi. The young raider earlier took the league by storm as he accumulated 301 raid points in 25 matches in Season 11. Alongside him is Sushil Kambrekar, who showed immense potential last season but had to leave mid-season due to an injury. He’ll be looking to redeem himself this time around.
The likes of Yash Malik (left corner), Manjeet (left cover), Deep Kumar (right cover), Amandeep (right corner), Ankit, Sandeep (right corner), Harander (right corner), Parteek (left cover) and Ashish (left corner) are some of the skilful defenders who will work alongside the experienced duo of Nitesh Kumar and Mayur Kadam.
As mentioned earlier, the lack of experienced defenders and quality all-rounders could hamper the team’s chances of securing a Playoff berth in Pro Kabaddi Season 12.
PKL season 12: Bengal Warriorz seek a return to the Playoffs
