Pro Kabaddi League 2017 Season 5: Akshay Kumar set to become Bengal Warriors co-owner

The Pro Kabaddi League is only getting bigger and bigger. After the announcement of four new teams joining the eight teams of the last season earlier, there is news coming in of superstar Akshay Kumar buying a stake in the Bengal Warriors team. Sources close to Sportskeeda have revealed that a formal announcement of the same is expected to be made by the weekend.

The team had a forgettable last season where they finished with the wooden spoon, managing only three wins throughout the course of the 4th season. The fans and owners of the franchise would hope that having the superstar as a new co owner would bring a change in the team’s fortunes.

"Since Akshay has a new sports film coming up, his team has been looking into franchises to invest in," stated the source. "They were earlier looking to buy a stake in a Hockey India League (HIL) team, but since there is uncertainty regarding its future, they looked at another sport and opted for the Pro Kabaddi League."

The source added, "The first choice was Punjab, but there is no team in the league from there. There was an opening for a co-owner role in the Bengal Warriors and hence they opted for it."

Akshay, one of the biggest superstars in the industry and a versatile actor who has delivered many a blockbuster in the last decade and a half, has never shied away from flashing his passion for sports. He was the brand ambassador of the Delhi Daredevils in the first season of Indian Premier League.

He had earlier bought a kabaddi team in the World Kabaddi League back in 2014 as well. The actor will soon be seen playing hockey legend and Olympic gold medalist Balbir Singh in a movie called Gold which is based on India’s first hockey Gold after independence.

The Warriors have one of the worst records in the history of the Pro Kabaddi as they have managed to finish on the losing side 34 times in the 58 matches that they have played. The team performed beyond expectations in the third season when they raced to the semis but hit rock bottom again in the fourth edition.

Going into the auctions, the team decided to retain the services of the talismanic Korean raider Jang Kun Lee and made some smart buys but overall the squad doesn’t inspire much confidence. The most expensive buy for Bengal Warriors was Surjeet Singh whose services were snapped for 73 lakhs who has 85 defence points in 28 matches.

Akshay is not the only Bollywood celebrity associated with the glitzy league. Abhishek Bachchan who co owns Jaipur Pink Panthers is also seen actively cheering for his team in the matches.