PKL 11: Jaipur Pink Panthers Squad Analysis - Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities And Threats

Eyeing their third Pro Kabaddi League (PKL) title, Jaipur Pink Panthers will target another consistent run as Season 11 gets underway on October 18. One of the best-performing teams in the competition and semi-finalists in PKL 10, Jaipur Pink Panthers will be looking to set things right by going all the way in the upcoming edition. (More Sports News)

The Panthers will be led by head coach Sanjeev Baliyan, a two-time PKL winner who coached Patna Pirates to the coveted trophy in Season 3 before repeating the feat with Jaipur in Season 9.

One of the most active teams at the Season 11 player auction, Jaipur Pink Panthers bought as many as 12 players to add to their squad ahead of the new campaign. With that in mind, here’s a look at the two-time champions’ strengths and weaknesses ahead of PKL 11.

Strengths

Both Jaipur’s raiding and defensive unit look solid on paper. While Arjun Deshwal, who is eighth in PKL's all-time raid points (947) charts is once again set to lead their attack, the Panthers have further strengthened their line-up following the additions of two experienced left raiders in Shrikant Jadhav and Vikash Kandola.

Raiders with lots of PKL pedigree, Jadhav has scored 681 raid points, while Kandola has 800 raid points in PKL history. Additionally, Neeraj Narwal is another raider who can contribute significantly to the team having accumulated 175 raid points in his PKL career so far. The Panthers’ defence also looks robust with the likes of Ankush, Surjeet Singh and Reza Mirbagheri, all expected to play crucial roles.

Second on the all-time leaderboard for tackle points (404), Surjeet is certainly a name that needs no introduction. He will be looking to form a formidable defence with Ankush and Mirbagheri, who have scored 159 and 96 tackle points respectively in two seasons each in the PKL. Ankush, in fact, was the best defender in Season 9 with 89 tackle points and he finished sixth on the leaderboard for tackle points (70) in PKL Season 10.

Weaknesses

Even though their defence looks well settled on paper, one area of concern for the Panthers will be the departure of ex-captain Sunil Kumar, who was a core member of their squad over the last few seasons and a crucial defender as well as inspirational leader in the team. While Surjeet can be considered as a good replacement for the former Panthers skipper, there’s no denying the fact that Sunil has been a lot more consistent over the last few seasons.

Sunil boasts a 61 per cent win record as skipper, having led the team to 65 victories in 107 outings in the league. It will be interesting to see how the two-time champions deal with Sunil’s departure.

Opportunities

Season 11 will also be a great opportunity for players like Neeraj Narwal, Lucky Sharma and Ravi Kumar to produce impactful performances. After the Panthers let go of Sahul Kumar at the player auction, Lucky can hope for a lot more opportunities.

After underwhelming campaigns from a personal point of view the last time around, both raider Neeraj and defender Ravi will be hoping to return to their best. More than capable of taking the game to the opposition on their day, Neeraj will look to add to his 175 raid points, while Ravi will be keen to add to his tally of 218 tackle points.

Threats

One potential area where Jaipur could perhaps have done better at the player auction was their acquisition of all-rounders. Currently, they have just one all-rounder in their squad in the form of Aamir Wani, who is yet to make his PKL debut.

Although their star raiders and defenders will try to plug this gap and not let the Panthers feel the importance of a genuine all-rounder in the team, it’s worth mentioning that having a player who can contribute on both ends of the mat not only helps with a team’s overall balance but also gives them a slight edge in close games.