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Three-time champions Patna Pirates had a forgettable outing in this year's Pro Kabaddi League season. The Patna-based franchise finished 10th in the final standings with 54 points in 22 matches.
During the mid-phase of the league stage, it looked like the Patna Pirates would finish in the Top 6. However, they lost four of their last five games and crashed out of the tournament in the first round itself.
Patna let go of their head coach Ram Mehar Singh ahead of the ninth season and recruited Ravi Shetty as the new coach. The new management kept their faith in the team that took them to the PKL 8 final but the same players could not replicate that performance in season nine.
New skipper Neeraj Kumar was the biggest disappointment for the Pirates in Pro Kabaddi 2022. The right cover defender scored only 29 tackle points in 21 matches. His tackle success rate dropped down to 30% while his High 5 tally stood at 1.
While Neeraj could not impress the fans, there were some other players who impressed for the Patna Pirates. The Patna-based franchise may retain the following three names for the next PKL season.
#1 Sachin Tanwar
Sachin Tanwar has been the best raider for the Patna Pirates in their last two Pro Kabaddi League seasons. The former Gujarat Giants star continued his excellent form in PKL 2022, earning 179 points in 20 matches. 176 out of those 179 points came in the raiding department.
Tanwar recorded eight Super 10s in the season besides executing four super raids. He was the backbone of the Patna Pirates team this season. Considering how well he has performed in the last two editions of the Pro Kabaddi League, it would be a big mistake for the Pirates to release Sachin Tanwar.
#2 Rohit Gulia
After a forgettable outing with the Haryana Steelers in PKL 8, Rohit Gulia made a roaring return to form in Pro Kabaddi 2022. Playing for his new team Patna Pirates, Gulia scored 148 raid points in just 19 matches. He supported Sachin Tanwar to perfection in the raiding unit.
Shedding some more light on his numbers, Rohit Gulia recorded seven Super 10s for the team. He also executed four super raids and maintained a decent average of 7.79 raid points per match. Patna should think of retaining their top two raiders for the next season.
#3 Mohammadreza Chiyaneh
This one is a no-brainer. Iranian defender Mohammadreza Chiyaneh has been the biggest match-winner for the Patna Pirates in the last two seasons. Playing in the left corner position, Chiyaneh has scored tackle points consistently for the Pirates.
However, he missed the first two matches of Pro Kabaddi 2022 due to visa problems. Still, Chiyaneh ended the league stage as the number-one defender with 84 tackle points.
Fans are unlikely to forget his heroic performance against defending champions Dabang Delhi KC, where he scored a record 16 tackle points in one match.
Patna should retain Chiyaneh, Sachin Tanwar and Rohit Gulia for PKL 2023 and build the rest of the squad around these players.
