After an underwhelming campaign last year, Bengal Warriors look ready to roar in Season 10

After having a below-par season in the ninth Pro Kabaddi edition, Bengal Warriors will want to forget about their display in the previous season and aim to start the landmark 10th PKL season with a fresh approach.

Before the start of the Season 10 Player Auction, Bengal Warriors retained only four players and all these players belonged to the Existing New Young Players category. The Season 7 PKL champions also used all three available Final Bid Match (FBM) cards to retain the services of Maninder Singh, Shrikant Jadhav and Shubham Shinde for Season 10.

The Terrific Trio

The pair of Maninder Singh and Shrikant Jadhav proved their mettle with their raiding in Season 9. Maninder Singh scored 238 raid points last season and he was the fifth best raider in the league while Shrikant Jadhav scored 123 raid points. They complemented each other and were one of the top raiding pairs in Season 9.

The new addition to the side, Nitin Rawal who also comes with a lot of PKL experience will add good value to the side with his raiding and defensive prowess. He looked impressive while playing for the Indian team at the recently-concluded Asian Games and will be hoping to continue his form in Season 10. 

This trio of Maninder Singh, Shrikant Jadhav and Nitin Rawal is vastly experienced having played five or more PKL seasons. The Warriors will be hoping for them to click and produce solid displays for the team in the upcoming season. Apart from Nitin Rawal, the Warriors have added another all-rounder in the form of Akshay Bharat to the squad.

The Warriors have also added some young raiders like Vishwas S, Suyog Gaikar, R Guhan, Parshant Kumar, Aslam Thambi, Akshay Jaywant Bodake, Maharudra Garje, Nitin Kumar and Chai-Ming Chang to their squad. 

Defensive Pillars

Meanwhile, Shubham Shinde and Vaibhav Garje were among the top defenders for the team last year. Shubham scored 43 tackle points in Season 9 and will be expected to be a defensive mainstay for Bengal Warriors in Season 10. A lot will also be expected from Vaibhav Garje, who was among four Existing New Young Players that were retained by the Season 7 PKL winners. While playing his first PKL season last year, Vaibhav amassed 30 tackle points, including a High 5 and he will want to build on his performances in the upcoming campaign. 

Apart from Shubham Shinde and Vaibhav Garje, Bengal Warriors have also roped in young talents like Akshay Kumar, Shreyas Umbardand, Aditya S. Shinde and Dipak Arjun Shinde to add depth and strengthen their defence. 

Overall, the Season 7 PKL champions have a good mix of experienced and young players in their team. Their raiding department looks solid while their defensive unit has plenty of potential to offer. With a balanced squad at their disposal, Bengal Warriors will back themselves to get their hands on the PKL trophy again as they eye their second title.