New Delhi. Three-time Pro Kabaddi League champions Patna Pirates will be desperate to win the title after losing in the semi-finals last season. The most successful team in PKL history, Pirates scored a hat-trick of titles from Seasons 3 to 5 and will be looking to capture the coveted trophy once again. Narendra Reddy, who led Patna Pirates to the semi-finals in PKL 10 as head coach, will once again hope to help the Pirates enjoy another solid campaign and at least qualify for the playoffs. They were one of the busiest teams in the Season 11 player auction and bought over a dozen players to add to their squad. Pirates’ biggest strength in PKL 11 is the depth of their squad in both attack and defence. They bought many talented players in the Season 11 player auction, with defender Shubham Shinde being the most expensive player at Rs 70 lakh, while all-rounder Gurdeep was at the second place at Rs 59 lakh. Their raiding unit can be led by Sudhakar M, who had a stellar performance in his debut campaign and scored 103 raid points.
Sandeep Kumar is another raider in the team, who will try to better his previous score of 86 raid points for Pirates. The team’s attack also includes players like Mitu Sharma and Jang Lee, who have scored 267 and 471 raid points respectively. Have gained points. Patna Pirates also have a lot of options in defence. Shubham Shinde and Deepak Singh, who have amassed 151 and 61 tackle points respectively in the PKL, are expected to lead the defence, while all-rounders Gurdeep and Ankit are also likely to contribute. Gurdeep has amassed 85 tackle points in the PKL, while Ankit has amassed 66 tackle points in his only season so far. As far as weaknesses go, the lack of quality replacements similar to last season could potentially hurt Pirates in both attack and defence. Patna Pirates’ raiding unit should perform well on most occasions, which will add pressure to an already cumbersome and inexperienced attack. The three-time champion team will hope that the experienced Jang Lee and Meetu Sharma perform to their full potential, as they have not been in the best form in the last few seasons.