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Despite starting Pro Kabaddi 2022 (PKL) as the No. 1 favorites to win, Telugu Titans find themselves in the last position on the standings after 51 matches in the tournament. The Titans are the only ones to have not touched double digits in the points table.
They have played nine matches in Pro Kabaddi 2022, registering one win and eight losses. Almost all the defeats have been lopsided ones as their score difference stands at -110. Only a miracle can take the Telugu Titans to the Pro Kabaddi 2022 playoffs now.
Miracles have happened in the past in the PKL, and there is no one who can stop the Titans from making a miraculous comeback if they play to their full potential. They also have their home leg coming up, and the Titans would look to delight their home fans by registering victories at the Gachibowli Indoor Stadium.
On that note, here are five strategic changes the Telugu Titans need to make to snap their six-match losing streak in the PKL 2022.
#1 Telugu Titans should stick to 1 captain only
Telugu Titans started the season with Ravinder Pahal as their captain. After a few matches, Pahal was injured, and then Surjeet Singh became the team's new skipper. Pahal became the captain again after his recovery but was dropped from the team soon after.
Monu Goyat is the team's captain now. Captaincy is a very important aspect in any team sport, and frequent changes in leadership due to any reason hurts the team badly.
The Titans won their only match of the tournament under Surjeet Singh's captaincy. They should persist with him because he is an experienced skipper who has led other teams in the past as well.
#2 Play with their top 3 raiders consistently
It is tough to understand why Abhishek Singh, Siddharth Desai and Monu Goyat have not featured in the playing seven regularly. These three raiders have the potential to win matches single-handedly, and they can wreak havoc as a unit in PKL 2022.
Even top performers of last season - Ankit Beniwal and Rajnish Dalal - have not received consistent opportunities. Telugu Titans should pick three of these five raiders and back them for the rest of the season to get better results.
#3 Telugu Titans should play with their best 4 defenders consistently
It is baffling that a team featuring Vishal Bhardwaj, Ravinder Pahal, Surjeet Singh, and Parvesh Bhainswal stands last in the list of franchises with the most successful tackles in PKL 2022. All four defenders have enormous experience under their belts and have always been in the race to become the Best Defender of the season.
The Titans have executed only 58 successful tackles in nine matches this season. One of the reasons behind it could be that the defense was not allowed to settle. If the management backs the above-mentioned quartet for at least six to seven matches, they will perform better.
#4 Get rid of quick substitutions
Confidence is a key thing in a sport like kabaddi, and the most negative thing that can happen to a player's confidence is when he gets substituted in the middle of the match due to non-injury reasons.
Telugu Titans have had too many substitutions in their first nine matches so far. Almost the entire playing seven has been different at the start and the end of the match. If the Titans stop making too many substitutions, it can boost the players' confidence level.
#5 Attack from 1st minute itself
The Titans have been quite defensive in some of their matches. They have focused on killing time with empty raids instead of trying for points.
If the Titans take calculative risks in their raiding unit, they can score more points. In a recent match against Gujarat Giants, the Titans scored only 19 points in 40 minutes. A few other teams score that many points regularly in the first half itself.
It will be interesting to see if the Telugu Titans can break their streak of defeats in Pro Kabaddi 2022.
