After losing in the semifinals of the previous season, the three-time Pro Kabaddi League (PKL) champion Patna Pirates will be motivated to win the championship again.

The Pirates, who have won three straight Pro Kabaddi titles from Seasons 3 to 5, are the most successful team in PKL history and are eager to win the prized trophy once again.

As head coach, Narender Redhu guided the Patna Pirates to the PKL 10 semifinals. This season, Redhu will try to assist the Pirates in having another successful season and, at least, make the playoffs.

They purchased around a dozen players to bolster their roster, making them one of the busiest teams at the Season 11 Player Auction table. An in-depth examination of their advantages and disadvantages before the next campaign follows.

Strengths: The depth of the Pirates’ offensive and defense-oriented roster is perhaps their greatest asset in PKL 11. They purchased a number of talented players in the Season 11 Player Auction, with all-rounder Gurdeep costing Rs 59 lakh and defender Shubham Shinde coming in at the highest price of Rs 70 lakh.

Sudhakar M, who scored 103 raid points in his first campaign and was a revelation, might be the leader of their raiding squad. Another talented raider, Sandeep Kumar, will try to surpass his previous record of 86 raid points for the Pirates from his first PKL season. Meetu Sharma and Jang Lee, who have scored 267 and 471 raid points, respectively, are also part of their offensive.

Like their offensive, the Patna Pirates’ defense is strong in both quantity and diversity. Their defensive leaders should be Shubham Shinde and Deepak Singh, who have amassed 151 and 61 tackle points in the Pakistan Premier League, respectively. All-rounders Gurdeep and Ankit are also probably going to contribute. Ankit has only recorded 66 tackle points in his one season in the PKL, whereas Gurdeep has amassed 85 tackle points.

Weaknesses: The Pirates may suffer from the absence of strong like-for-like replacements from the previous campaign in both the offense and defense. Sachin, along with former captain Neeraj Kumar, might return to haunt the Patna Pirates despite their squad’s depth and number of players and the lack of good choices to replace the likes of their lead raider from the previous season.

The Pirates will be missing both their top raider and defender from the previous campaign as Krishan, who led them in tackle points last season with 78, will not be playing for the squad this coming season. The lack of assault experience combined with the Pirates’ weaknesses on defense cannot be overlooked, especially because Jang Lee is the only raider on the club to have played in more than 60 PKL games.

Opportunities: Having said that, players will be able to rise to the occasion by assuming personal responsibility for scoring points due to the Pirates’ relative inexperience in both attack and defense. Shubham Shinde in defence, Sudhakar M in attack, and Sandeep Kumar in attack are three such players who may become team captains in Season 11.

As was previously said, Sudhakar M’s outstanding performances during his first PKL campaign the previous season won over everyone. With Sachin out of the picture, Sudhakar M will have a lot of pressure to live up to the role of main raider, and it will be intriguing to watch. Shubham Shinde, who had 62 tackle points in the previous year, too had a good season. Now that Neeraj Kumar and Krishan are out of the picture, Shubham Shinde will be looking to take up the mantle of a defensive captain.

Threats: The Pirates might have difficulties balancing the squad as a result of the absence of true all-round players. Despite being their two most seasoned all-rounders on paper, Gurdeep and Ankit’s combined total of two raid points throughout their PKL careers underscores their deficiencies as an attacking unit.

Therefore, the raiding unit of the Patna Pirates should be effective most of the time, adding strain to an already overworked and inexperienced assault. The three-time winners, who haven’t been at their best lately, will be hoping that seasoned players Jang Lee and Meetu Sharma can play to the best of their abilities.