Star Sports Pro Kabaddi Season 4 2016 has reached the midway mark after 4 legs with Patna playing the role of the hosts recently. After the organizers decided to shuffle the teams ahead of the kabaddi season, all the teams look threatening as this edition is set to be the most competitive tournament ever. And it has lived up to its billing with only 1 point separating the top 3 sides and all the teams still in the running for a semi-final spot as the tournament moves on to Bangalore.
With half a season gone, let’s take a look at each of the teams’ performance and judge if they fulfilled expectations or underperformed so far:
Bengal Warriors: F
The biggest disappointment this season comes from the team from the city of joy – Kolkata. In Season 3, Bengal Warriors reached the semi-final stage for the very first time and had high hopes coming into the season. Instead of using it as a launchpad, the Warriors came crashing down in Season 4.
After 7 matches, the Nilesh Shinde-led team lie at the bottom of the table with just 8 points. Ahead of the season, they brought in Ravi Dalal, Surjeet Narwal, and Vishal Mane while they retained their captain and Girish Maruti Ernakto supplement the return to the team of Mahendra Rajput, Nitin Madane, and Jang-Kun Lee. However, none of them have been able to fill the massive hole left by the duo of Bajirao Hodage and Nitin Tomar in the team’s squad.
This season, so far, they have managed just a solitary win against Dabang Delhi. Nitin Madane is the only player who has done anything of note as all of their new signings have failed. With just 7 matches left in the season, it will take a Herculean effort from the team to repeat last season’s results.
Bengaluru Bulls: C
After a disappointing 3rd season for Bengaluru Bulls, they invested heavily ahead of Season 4 and broke the transfer record by splashing Rs. 53 lakhs for Mohit Chhillar. The Bulls finished 7th in the previous edition and needed a complete overhaul to overturn their fortunes.
And that’s what they did at the auction. U Mumba’s defensive duo of Mohit and Surender Nada were brought in for massive sums with the latter was honoured with the task of leading the team. Rohit Baliyan was drafted in from Telugu Titans while they managed to bag the prized signing of Season 3 MVP Rohit Kumar for the upcoming season.
Their performances on the field, however, haven’t improved as expected. Although they lie just 2 points behind 4th placed U Mumba, the team’s aspirations were much higher, as exemplified by the massive outlay during the auction. The Bulls are in the running for the semi-final spot, but they need to make the most of the home leg, which takes place next.
Dabang Delhi: C
Not a lot was expected by Dabang Delhi after they slumped to rock-bottom in Season 3. With 6th and 7th place finishes in the first and second seasons respectively, their results got even worse in the third edition. Although they have improved this season, it seems highly unlikely they’ll make the playoffs.
It was clear the Eagles think-tank wanted a new team as they didn’t buy any of their former players after retaining the raiding duo of Kashiling Adake and Selvamani K. They even let go of former captain and best defender of Season 2 Ravinder Pahal. In Meraj Sheykh, they managed to secure the signing of one of the best foreigners in the league while securing the services of Deepak Narwal, Prashant Rai, Sachin Shingade, Prashant Chavan, and Bhupender Singh.
Although they managed the scalp of the tournament by beating Patna Pirates at their home, they are yet to set the tournament alight. Lying in 7th spot currently and with time running out, the odds are against the team from the capital to qualify for their first ever semis.
Jaipur Pink Panthers: A+
Possibly the most impressive team this year, Jaipur Pink Panthers has completely turned it around after last season’s disappointment. After winning the tournament in Season 1, the Pink Panthers failed to qualify for the semi-final in the next two editions. Sitting pretty on 2nd spot, they seem to have finally got their squad balance right.
Their main business in the auction was retaining their top players – Jasvir Singh and Rajesh Narwal – and buying back Rohit Rana and Rann Singh. Supplementing them with Shabeer Bappu and Amit Hooda has turned out to be a stroke of genius by Abhishek Bachchan’s team. A change in the coach has also seemed to work in their favour as Balwan Singh’s tactics seem more to the taste of the Pink Panthers.
They are one of only 2 teams to beat Patna Pirates this season, lying just 1 point behind them with a far superior score difference. If they continue the run they are on, it shouldn’t come as a surprise if they become the first team to win Star Sports Pro Kabaddi twice on 31st July.
Patna Pirates: B+
In Season 4, the reigning champions – Patna Pirates – have continued where they left off at the end of the previous edition. The Pirates sit at the top of the table at the halfway stage with 5 wins and 2 losses as they aim to defend their title. They, however, seem to be running out of steam after a brilliant start to the season.
Just like the other teams, the Pirates underwent a makeover ahead of the fourth season. They managed to retain last season’s top-scorer – 19-year-old PardeepNarwal – and utility player Rajesh Mondal. To replace the outgoing captain Manpreet Singh, they roped in experienced defender Dharmaraj Cheralathan while bidding successfully for Bajirao Hodage, and Kuldeep Singh. Iranian trio of Fazel Atrachali, Abolfazel Maghsodlo, and Hadi Oshtorak were also brought in to soften the blow of losing the energetic Sandeep Narwal.
After looking seemingly invincible, the Pirates’ march was halted by Dabang Delhi and Jaipur Pink Panthers in their last two matches. Have they peaked too early? Or will Sandeep’s loss prove to be fatal? We’ll have to wait and watch.
Puneri Paltan: B
Manjeet Chhillar-led Puneri Paltan qualified for the semi-final for the first time in three attempts last season. This season they look strong enough to at least repeat last season’s heroics, if not improve on it.
The signings of Ravinder Pahal and Joginder Narwal have liberated Manjeet and allowed him to concentrate more on raiding, a department which got a boost by the influx of Nitin Tomar and Sonu Narwal. With Deepak Niwas Hooda already on their books, their raiding department is one of the strongest in the league despite Nitin’s poor form.
With 4 wins and a draw in 7 matches, the Paltan are just 1 point off top-placed Patna Pirates. Former title-winning coach with Jaipur, Kasinathan Baskaran could be set to create history with Puneri Paltan this season.
Telugu Titans: D
After Bengal Warriors, the team that has disappointed the most has been the side from Down South – Telugu Titans. The franchise, captained by Rahul Chaudhari, lost their first three matches before staging a mini-revival to keep their semi-final hopes alive.
Ahead of the season, they made a splash in the market by loosening their purse strings to sign the defensive trio of Sandeep Narwal, Jasmer Singh Gulia, and Sandeep Dhull. The former is a very astute signing as he can also double up as a raider and support Rahul and SukeshHegde, who has been off-colour this season so far.
After a poor start, the Titans manage to win 3 out of their last 4 matches as their talisman Rahul Chaudhuri is slowly regaining form as he shrugs off the after-effects of a serious shoulder injury. The 23-year-old will prove key to his team’s chances of making their second appearance in the semi-final stages.
U Mumba: B-
3-time finalists U Mumba have had an uncharacteristic stuttering season, compared to the lofty standards they have set for themselves. Coach BhaskaranEdachery’s team are currently on 4th spot but face eviction from the playoff spots from the resurgent Bengaluru Bulls and the unpredictable Titans.
The most successful team in the tournament’s history were ripped apart in the auction as teams clamoured like hungry wolves to sign their players. Mohit Chhillar, Surender Nada, Fazel Atrachali, Vishal Mane, Shabeer Bappu, and Bhupender Singh all departed ahead of Season 4. The signing of Surjeet from Puneri Paltan helped stem the stagnation of their defense while Rishank Devadiga and Anup Kumar still lead the team’s raiding department. Rakesh Kumar has had a decent season, but the team clearly lacks the depth it did in the first 3 seasons.
The inconsistent U Mumba were handed their worst-ever loss in their first defeat in the Maharashtra derby at the start of the season. With 3 losses and 4 wins, the side from the financial capital of India face a struggle to replicate their results from the previous seasons.
