Patna Pirates are Pro Kabaddi’s most successful team having won three out of the six seasons so far.
Their reign as champions came to an end last season when they failed to make the playoffs for the first time in their history. Over-reliance on Pardeep Narwal and a shaky defence meant Patna’s hopes of a fourth straight crown were dashed prematurely.
Despite the early exit, Patna Pirates have kept faith in coach Ram Mehar Singh for the upcoming season.
The Pirates have an enviable record in the league though, having reached the semi-finals in the first two seasons before bagging a hat-trick of titles.
The Pirates’ bid to reclaim their title this season suffered a body blow when new recruit Surender Nada was ruled out of the season with an injury. Considered one of the game’s best left-corner defenders, he was brought in to provide the team with more defensive stability and also additional experience.
In his absence, the responsibility to win games for Patna Pirates will once again rest solely on Narwal.
Past record for Patna Pirates in Pro Kabaddi
| Season | Result |
|---|---|
| Season 1 | Finished fourth in league phase, lost to Jaipur Pink Panthers in semi-final |
| Season 2 | Finished fourth in league phase, lost to U Mumba in semi-final |
| Season 3 | Winners |
| Season 4 | Winners |
| Season 5 | Winners |
| Season 6 | Did not qualify for playoffs, finished fourth in Zone B in league phase |
Auction Report
The Pirates retained star man Narwal (unsurprisingly), defender Jawahar Dagar and all-rounder Vikas Jaglan ahead of the auctions. The focus in this auction was on defenders and support raiders for their star man. Thus, their most expensive purchase was Surender Nada (Rs 77 lakh), followed by Neeraj Kumar (Rs 44.5 lakh). The Pirates seemed to have invested their faith in foreign players to bolster their raiding department, buying South Korean star Jang Kun Lee (Rs 40 lakh) and Iran’s Mohammad Esmaeil Maghsoudloumahalli (Rs 35 lakh).
Strengths
Pardeep Narwal, of course. He’s almost a one-man army. The Haryana raider single-handedly carried them through the playoffs in season five and played a huge hand in their initial two triumphs as well. With good support in the form of Jang Kun Lee, Pardeep could become very difficult to stop again this season. He has the ability to completely deflate the opponent defence with his mazy skills and is known for scoring points in heaps. He is the league’s all-time leading raid point scorer and has a record 44 Super 10s to his name. If Patna are to have any chance of winning the title again this season, Narwal must be bang on his act.
Weakness
Nada’s injury has once again raised question marks about Patna’s defence that is more or less similar to last season. Left corner defender Jaideep will be key, so will Jawahar Dagar. The Pirates have signed cover defender Neeraj Kumar with plenty of hope, and they’ll be hoping he lives up to his potential. Coach Ram Mehar Singh would need to give his defenders some confidence after a poor showing last season.
Coach report:
Ram Mehar Singh began his coaching career with the Air Force and Services team. He mentored them to three national championship titles. He was also part of the national selection team for five years. Appointed head coach of Patna Pirates in the fifth season of Pro Kabaddi, Ram Mehar guided the team to their hat-trick. After the win, he was appointed as the head coach for the Indian national team for 2018 Asian Games, where India failed to bag a gold medal for the first time ever.
As a player, Ram Mehar Singh had an extremely decorated career. He was a part of the team which won gold at the Asian Games in 1998 and 2002. He was, in fact, the captain of the team that went unbeaten in South Korea in 2002. Ram Mehar won the Arjuna award for his outstanding performance at the 2002 Asian Games.
Player to watch out for: Jang Kun Lee
With Patna’s chances of securing a fourth title hinging on their raiders, it’s important Jang Kun Lee fires on all cylinders in the upcoming season. Known for his prowess in do-or-die raids, Lee could protect Pardeep in crunch situations.
A dangerous raider himself, Jang has the most points for an overseas player in the history of Pro Kabaddi. He showed form in the recent Pro Kabaddi All-Star match between India 7s and World 7s when he had the most number of raid points in the game.
An in-form Jang Kun Lee could make Patna’s raiding unit very difficult to deal with and hence along with Pardeep, the South Korean holds the key for Patna Pirates this season.
Full squad:
Raiders: Ashish, Jang Kun Lee (South Korea), Mohammad Esmaeil Maghsoudlou Mahalli (Iran), Mohit, Naveen, Pardeep Narwal, Purna Singh, Rajveersinh Chavan
Defenders: Mahendra Choudhary, Neeraj Kumar, Jaideep, Bintu Narwal, Jawahar Dagar
All-rounders: Hadi Oshtorak (Iran), Ravinder, Sahil Mann, Vikas Jaglan
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