The 11^th season of the Pro Kabaddi League is finally upon us and it has the potential to go down as the best one yet. We’ll be seeing a lot of changes from last season thanks to an action-packed auction where teams looked to solidify their strengths and fix their weaknesses. Today we look at how well each team did in that regard as we preview PKL 11.

Puneri Paltan

We start off with the defending champions Puneri Paltan, who were utterly dominant in PKL 10. They won 17 games to finish at the top of the standings and then proceeded to beat the Patna Pirates and Haryana Steelers in the playoffs to clinch the title.

The Paltan were the most complete team last season, finishing fifth in raid success rate (38.3%), first in tackle success rate (54.7%), first in do-or-die raid success rate (55.3%), and second in do-or-die tackle success rate (57.4%). They were the only team to be in the top five in all four categories.

The Paltan then managed to hold on to almost all of their key players from last season, with Defender of the Season Mohammadreza Chiyaneh being the only big departure. His absence will hurt their defense, but with the likes of Gaurav Khatri, Abinesh Nadarajan and Sanket Sawant having been retained, they should be fine.

It was on the raiding front that the Paltan made a splash at the auction. They landed V Ajith Kumar for Rs 66 lakhs to strengthen a unit that already consisted of Mohit Goyat, Aslam Inamdar, and Pankaj Mohite.

The Paltan are looking to become the first team to successfully defend the title since the Patna Pirates and look in a good position to do so.

Haryana Steelers

Runners-up Haryana Steelers are up next and their run to the Final was quite a surprising one, after finishing fifth in the standings. In their bid to get back to the big stage, they made one of the biggest splashes of the auction by landing Chiyaneh for Rs 2.07 crores.

He bolsters an already formidable defensive unit that was led by Rahul Sethpal and Jaideep Dahiya. The Steelers ranked fourth in both tackle success rate (43.7%) and do-or-die tackle success rate (55.2%) last season and expect them to excel in that regard once again.

As for the raiding front, the Steelers didn’t end up landing anyone of note at the auction. They’re backing the young duo of Vinay and Shivam Patare to take some big strides in PKL 11. The Steelers were eighth in raid success rate (34.7%) and 12^th in do-or-die raid success rate (36.2%) last season and it’ll be interesting if they are able to go much higher this time around despite not making any moves.

Jaipur Pink Panthers

The Jaipur Pink Panthers entered PKL 10 as the defending champions but after finishing second in the standings with 16 wins, they shockingly lost to the Steelers in the semifinals. Following that shock defeat, we have seen some notable changes to their roster for PKL 11 and perhaps a change in the philosophy.

Starting on the defensive front, captain Sunil Kumar and Sahul Kumar have both departed. Surjeet was the only big name brought in to fill the void left by the duo and will slot in alongside Ankush Rathee and Reza Mirbagheri. The Pink Panthers ranked sixth in tackle success rate (41.6%) and third in do-or-die tackle success rate (57.1%) last season but I’d expect some slippage in PKL 11.

There were even more changes in the raiding department, with V Ajith Kumar and Bhavani Rajput being let go and Shrikant Jadhav, Vikash Kandola, and Neeraj Narwal being brought in. The Pink Panthers were sixth in raid success rate (37.5%) and fifth in do-or-die raid success rate (51.2%) last season and these three will be tasked with offering better support to star raider Arjun Deshwal to up those numbers.

Patna Pirates

The Patna Pirates made the playoffs in PKL 10 thanks to a strong finish but their season was ended at the semifinal stage by the Paltan juggernaut. Instead of building on that finish, though, the Pirates have undergone somewhat of an overhaul.

Sachin Tanwar and Manjeet Dahiya, their two strike raiders in PKL 10, are both gone. They were a big reason why the Pirates were fourth in raid success rate (38.4%) and second in do-or-die raid success rate (53.5%) last season. Jang Kun Lee and Meetu Sharma were brought in and join Sudhakar M and Sandeep Kumar in the raiding department. I am not sure there is a real strike raider in that group but Sudhakar or Meetu could potentially step up and fill that role.

It was on defense that the Pirates spent a ton of money in the auction, splurging nearly Rs. 2 crores combined on Shubham Shinde, Gurdeep, and Deepak Singh. As a result, we should see significant improvement on defense as compared to last season, where they were eighth in tackle success rate (38.7%) and seventh in do-or-die tackle success rate (51.2%).

If one of those raiders is able to rise to the challenge, this team could make some noise.

Dabang Delhi

Dabang Delhi enter this season on the back of two consecutive exits in the Eliminator stage and they didn’t make much of a splash at the auction. 

They managed to retain both Ashu Malik and Naveen Kumar, which meant there was no need as such to go big on the raiding front. Siddharth Desai was the notable name they did bring in and I’d expect Delhi, who ranked second in raid success rate (40%) and sixth in do-or-die raid success rate (50%) to do well once again.

On defense, Delhi retained Young Player of the Season Yogesh as well as Ashish. They went after Fazel Atrachali and Sunil Kumar at the auction but failed to land either of the two to significantly bolster a defensive unit that ranked seventh in tackle success rate (39.1%) and 12^th in do-or-die tackle success rate (43.6%) last season. Think it’s safe to say, that Delhi’s fortunes rest on Ashu and Naveen’s shoulders.

Gujarat Giants

The Gujarat Giants were the other team to get knocked out in the Eliminator and they had a productive auction.

The Giants needed a strike raider after finishing 10^th in raid success rate (34.1%) and third in do-or-die raid success rate (52.4%) last season and got one in Guman Singh for Rs 1.97 crores. It is a huge investment but one that’s worth it. Rakesh Sangroya and Parteek Dahiya will support Guman and I expect them to form one of the better raiding units in PKL 11.

On defense, the Giants lost two key pieces in Fazel Atrachali and Deepak Singh. They had helped the team rank fifth in both tackle success rate (41.8%) and do-or-die tackle success rate (54.4%) last season. As for incomings, Sombir was brought back by the team at the auction while Neeraj Kumar was also snapped up, but I am not sold on that defense and it could prove to be what holds this team back.

Bengal Warriors

The Bengal Warriors missed the playoffs in PKL 10 and it was the third straight season in which they had failed to make it in. I think there’s a good chance they’ll end that drought this time around.

The Warriors had massive issues on defense last season, ranking 12^th in tackle success rate (33.9%) and ninth in do-or-die tackle success rate (48.5%). So, how do you go about fixing that? Well, how about starting by getting Fazel Atrachali at the auction? They also landed Vaibhav Garje, Mayur Kadam, and Nitesh Kumar, and that defensive unit has been completely transformed by these arrivals.

Meanwhile, on the raiding front, the Warriors had retained the impressive Nitin Kumar and then managed to bring back Maninder Singh for Rs. 1.15 crores at the auction. They ranked first in raid success rate (40.7%) and eighth in do-or-die raid success rate (47.3%) last season and I expect these two to ably lead that raiding unit once again.

Bengaluru Bulls

While I expect the Warriors’ fortunes to change next season, I am not sure I can say the same about the Bengaluru Bulls. Let’s start with the positives first, though.

Their raiding department looks to be in good shape after landing Ajinkya Pawar, Pardeep Narwal, and Jai Bhagwan at the auction. The Bulls were 11^th in raid success rate (32.5%) and ninth in do-or-die raid success rate (44.3%) and these three along with retained youngster Sushil should help improve that.

On the other hand, though, their defensive unit doesn’t inspire a lot of confidence. They retained Saurabh Nandal but the departure of Surjeet Singh means he is the only experienced defender there. The Bulls ranked third in tackle success rate (43.7%) and sixth in do-or-die tackle success rate (53.9%) last season and I’d be shocked if they don’t dip in both aspects in PKL 11.

Tamil Thalaivas

The Tamil Thalaivas failed to make it back-to-back playoff appearances by finishing ninth last season but seem to be in a great position to make it back in.

The Thalaivas made Sachin Tanwar the most expensive player in the PKL 11 auction by spending Rs. 2.15 crores on him and he forms a formidable raiding partnership with Narender. They were seventh in raid success rate (37.5%) and fourth in do-or-die raid success rate (52.3%) last season and expect them to be better this time around.

The Thalaivas also managed to retain the key pieces from their defensive unit that ranked second in tackle success rate (43.9%) and first in do-or-die tackle success rate (57.4%) last season. They look like a team that has covered all their bases and I back them to finish a lot higher up.

U Mumba

U Mumba made it three straight seasons with no playoffs after finishing 10^th in PKL 10. Some changes were unsurprisingly in order after that.

Mumba landed one of the more sought-after players at the auction, as they snapped up Sunil Kumar for Rs. 1.015 crores and also brought in his old partner in crime, Parvesh Bhainswal. The duo along with Rinku, who missed much of PKL 10 due to injury, and Sombir will be tasked with uplifting a defense that ranked 10^th in tackle success rate (35.2%) and eighth in do-or-die tackle success rate (51.1%) last season.

There was a big void left in the raiding department, which ranked third in raid success rate (38.4%) and seventh in do-or-die raid success rate (48.2%) last season, following Guman Singh’s departure and Mumba tried to fill that by bringing in Manjeet for Rs. 80 lakhs. He teams up with Amirmohammad Zafardanesh to form a solid raiding tandem, but they’ll need one of these two to take a big step next season if they are to hold their own against the big boys.

UP Yoddhas

UP Yoddhas missed the playoffs for the first time in team history in PKL 10 and aren’t too keen on that happening again. We saw some notable changes from them in the quest to make it back to the postseason.

The iconic Pardeep Narwal was let go, with Bharat Hooda and Bhavani Rajput coming in for Rs 1.3 crores and Rs. 45 lakhs respectively. Surender Gill, meanwhile, was retained and the Yoddhas have a pretty good raiding trifecta as a result. They ranked ninth in raid success rate (34.4%) and 10^th in do-or-die raid success rate (42.9%) last season and some improvement is to be expected.

On defense, meanwhile, the Yoddhas ranked ninth in tackle success rate (36.8%) and 11^th in do-or-die tackle success rate (47.4%) last season. They then let go of former captain Nitesh Kumar but Sumit and Ashu Singh are back. Mohammadreza Kaboudrahangi, Sahul Kumar, and Mahender Singh were snapped up at the auction to support them too and it’s fair to say that’s a pretty good core to have. I’d expect the Yoddhas to be in the mix for the playoff spots as a result.

Telugu Titans

Lastly, we get to the Telugu Titans, who have now finished at the bottom of the pile for three straight seasons. Will they finally get themselves off the foot of the standings this time around? Maybe.

The Titans finished 12^th in raid success rate (31.1%) and 11^th in do-or-die raid success rate (37.0%) last season. The lack of a good support raider next to Pawan Sehrawat, who was brought back using FBM for Rs. 1.725 crores, was a big reason why they struggled so much. The Titans brought in Vijay Malik to offer better support to Pawan, but they still appear to be somewhat of a one-man army.

The Titans didn’t fare much better on defense last season, ranking 11^th in tackle success rate (34.7%) and 10^th in do-or-die tackle success rate (48%).  They brought in Krishan Dhull, who ranked second in tackle points in PKL 10, for Rs. 70 lakhs to be the new leader of that unit and while I back him to do well, there are question marks about the rest. So, with neither department looking in great shape, it does look like another season with no playoffs is on the cards.

While the Titans don’t seem primed to shine in PKL 11, that can’t be said about most of the other teams. I expect an intense battle for the playoff spots but the big question is, will anyone be able to stop the Paltan? Well, time will tell.

Featured Pic Credit: PKL.