In the first two seasons of Star Sports Pro Kabaddi, one team that raised a lot of hopes was the Future Group-owned Bengal Warriors. But disappointment was all that they could give to their fans as they finished 7th and 6th in the first two seasons respectively.
Kolkatans, who had faced similar tribulations with their local cricket team in the Indian Premier League initially, kept their faith intact for they had seen how fortunes had transmogrified for the Knight Riders after a slow start.
And the way the third season began for the team, for once, it appeared as if the Warriors would do a Knight Riders as they notched up 4 wins to start the tournament. Mind you, 4 wins was all that they had managed in both the first and the second seasons.
But then the graph began to come down and though they did manage to climb up to compete in the semi-finals, that was the farthest they could reach.
As the 4th season beckons, the Kolkata-based Kabaddi outfit will be looking to start on a similar note as they did in the last season but would also endeavour to keep the intensity intact till the finishing line so that they can give the Kolkatans much cheer and joy and themselves the coveted trophy.
Before they start their season, here is a look at the teams strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats.
Strengths
Jang-Kun Lee has been a phenomenal success for the Bengal Warriors and it comes as no surprise that the management was adamant to not let go of him and retained him ahead of the auctions.
From being a little-known quantity in the first season, he has gone on to become the most successful foreign recruit in the league and while communication was a problem for him in the first few seasons, after three seasons, hopefully, he will overcome the barrier. That would make him an even greater threat on the mat in the 4th season.
Besides, the defence looks almost impenetrable in the presence of Nilesh Shinde, Girish Ernak and Vishal Mane. The team performed a notch above their previous seasons in the third edition and will take inspiration from those going into a fresh season as they have kept the core of the team intact.
Also, the inclusion of a seasoned campaigner like Ravi Dalal brings a lot of experience to the team.
Weakness
The strength can prove to be the weakness when those around the strong players are just looking up to them to perform and not giving their best. That was the case with the franchise in the first two seasons as they relied heavily on Nilesh Shinde in the defence and Jang-Kun Lee’s raiding abilities to win them games.
Also, the team needs more raiders to click but barring the South Korean Lee, the names in their ranks don’t inspire much confidence. In such a scenario, the team would need Surjeet Narwal to come good.
Opportunities
Just one semifinal appearance in three attempts is all that Bengal Warriors have to show against their name and they would be itching to better that performance. They always have had the ammo to do that but it’s a matter of all of them clicking together as a unit. Captain Nilesh Shinde’s efforts have to be lauded in that respect as he led the team admirably well in the first half of the third season when the team was battling injuries to win five out of their first six games.
The captain will also have a shot at going the distance with Bengal Warriors, specially as the team has managed to hold on to the core that helped them finish with 9 wins in the last season.
Vishal Mane is an experienced campaigner and having turned out regularly for U Mumba, he can make a big impact as he knows the champion side like the back of his hand and brings with himself a winning mentality to the Bengal Warriors.
Threats
The team would like to guard against a repeat of the last season where they lost their bearings in the second half of the tournament. The Warriors also showed a similar tendency in the matches where their defence would go AWOL in the second half of the match after a remarkable first half.
The intensity has to be kept intact by the team throughout the matches and throughout the tournament, if they are to become a serious contender. Also, while the management did an amazing job in the auctions by making like for like changes for the players lost, their inability to pack the squad with genuine all-rounders could come back to haunt them.
