Team Talk: Pardeep’s Pirates seek another season of glory

Three-time VIVO Pro Kabaddi winners Patna Pirates will go into Season 6 high on confidence as defending champions. The driving force in the sails of the Pirates’ ship has been their captain ‘Dubki King’ Pardeep Narwal who has managed to demolish record after record on his way to becoming the Season 4 and 5 MVP (Most Valuable Player).

Pirates relied on a young defensive line led by Jaideep in Season 5; a gamble which paid off in the closing stages of the season and eventually took them to victory. This season team is geared up to continue their performance with Pardeep well supported by Deepak Narwal who was instrumental in their season 3 win and Manjeet a young talent who will be the player to watch out for in coming season. With the current team can the Pirates still manage to shine and make it four in a row?

Team Highlights

Pardeep Narwal

No more needs to be said about the primary strength of Patna Pirates than this man’s name. The team’s main strength has been their raiding and Narwal is right up there among the best raiders of the game. He averaged more than 14 points in every game, while none of the other raiders even managed to cross 10.

A king of the Dubki, Narwal added many more tricks such as the jump and kick to his armoury in Season 5 making his game even more unpredictable.

This season, the Pirates have Deepak Narwal and Kuldeep Singh making a comeback to their fold which should help the team gain some overall depth. Do-or-Die specialist raider Tushar Patil is another good addition.

Defence coming of age

The fearlessness of youth being channelised well was the key to Patna Pirates’ defensive success last season. Players like Jaideep, Manish and Jawahar Dagar were given an extended line on the mat and had the platform to express themselves freely which saw them blossom into World Class defenders over time.

In spite of being under the scanner early in Season 5, the Pirates’ defenders rose to the occasion and made it count when it mattered in the Super Playoffs and subsequent games. This ability of the team to rise to the occasion makes them especially dangerous in a league like VIVO Pro Kabaddi where past records count for little.

Stating Stats

Wins – 53

Draws – 10

Losses – 27

Total points scored – 3084 (57.36% from Raid Points and 29.53% from Tackle Points)

Total points conceded – 2831

All-Outs inflicted – 135

Most Successful Raider - Pardeep Narwal with 616 Raid Points (Season 3 – Current)

Most Successful Defender - Sandeep Narwal with 119 Tackle Points (Season 1 - 3)

Form Guide

1. Patna Pirates have been champions in the previous three editions of VIVO Pro Kabaddi making them the team with the most titles in the history of the league.

2. In Season 5, Patna Pirates scored the most Raid Points as well as the most points overall in the season.

3. Patna Pirates’ captain Pardeep Narwal has scored the most Raid Points in Season 3 and well as Season 5 of the league.

4. With 637 Raid Points is Season 5, the Pirates were 176 Raid Points ahead of the team with the second-most Raid Points.

5. After coming second in Zone B, Patna Pirates managed to win every single game till the finals, where they won by the biggest margin (17) among the 5 finals played in the league’s history.