look news india
Mumbai, 30 September (HIST). The 11th season of Pro Kabaddi League (PKL) is going to start from October 18 in Hyderabad. Before the important day in the history of Kabaddi, Bengal Warriors have appointed Iran's charismatic player Fazal Atrachali as the captain of the team and Nitesh Kumar as the vice-captain. Dressed in light blue, this team also includes India's best raider Maninder Singh, who wants to enter Season 11 with a new and energetic style.
Bengal Warriors did a great job in the PKL player auction of Season 11, where they were able to build a strong and balanced team. The Warriors have stepped up to the plate with the inclusion of their captain Fazel Atrachali, helping him pair with the legendary Maninder Singh, and they hope the pair can make a memorable impact at the upcoming edition of the tournament.
PKL champions in 2019 – Bengal Warriors are known to give tough competition to the opposition teams, and again they have been working hard in training to ensure that they leave no stone unturned on their way to the Cup once they hit the mat. Go.
One of the most recognizable faces in the PKL – Fazal has been a part of the tournament since the second season and he is all set to make his first appearance for Bengal Warriors, one of the founding teams of the competition.
The 32-year-old Fazal is known to lead from the front and has played a total of 169 matches in the tournament, scoring 494 points. Fazal, known as Sultan, has a not-out percentage of 90 and a 54% tackle success rate. The towering defender is also part of an exclusive club of defenders who have won Defender of the Tournament on more than one occasion.
Fazal has won two Asian Games silver medals (2010 and 2014) and an Asian Games gold medal in 2018, apart from winning the PKL title twice and leading Gujarat Giants to the final of the competition in his debut season.
Meanwhile, his deputy Nitish Kumar is also very experienced, and has been a part of the PKL since 2017. The defender will look to build a solid partnership with his captain during Season 11 as he looks to take his tally to 354 points from 129 matches in his PKL career. Nitish is coming into the new season with a not-out percentage of 58.33 and a tackle success rate of 50%.
Like his captain, Nitish will also be playing in Bengal Warriors colors for the first time in the PKL, and he is well remembered for his stellar campaign in Season 6, when he became the first player in the league's history to score 100 tackle points in a single campaign. Became the first player to do so.
Speaking on the occasion, Captain Atrachali said, “It is a great honor to be a part of the Bengal Warriors set-up, which is one of the oldest teams in the PKL. In the Warriors camp, we will play like warriors and as a team we will give our best in every match and hope to come out on top. This is a great opportunity for me to work with one of the best raiders in the game, Maninder Singh. Our team is very balanced and everyone from the coach to the owner to the team management has been very supportive from day one. We will try our best to ensure that we become the best version of ourselves every day.”
Bengal Warriors head coach Prashant Surve said, “Fazel Atrachali is one of the best defenders in the game of Kabaddi and PKL and his ability to lead from the front is very well documented. It will be great to pair him with Maninder Singh, who is a raider unlike any other in the game.”
Prashant Surve further added, “As a coach, it is great to be able to work with Fazal, Maninder and Nitesh, as they are very experienced and have proven their performance over many years. His presence has not only increased the team's energy and intensity levels in the pre-season, but has also given the youngsters in the team a great set of role models. We are confident that Bengal Warriors will have a great season and the Capri Sports team is also ensuring that no stone is left unturned in our quest for glory.”
Apoorva Gupta, COO of Contact Sports, Capri Sports, said, “In Fazal and Nitesh, we have two of the best defenders and leaders in the Bengal Warriors team this year. The leadership group and the rest of the team, along with a veteran like Maninder Singh, have already shown great chemistry during training in pre-season and we at Capri Sports are confident that this is the right combination going forward. We are hopeful that we will make a strong start to the second decade of PKL and are confident that we have enough strength to give a tough competition to other teams. From now on we will leave it to the best players in the business to take matters into their own hands on the mat and we hope the fans also enjoy the season.”
Jinisha Sharma, Director, Capri Sports, said, “Fazal Atrachali is someone everyone looks up to in the PKL and we are delighted to have him alongside Maninder Singh in the Bengal Warriors squad. All three of them, Fazal, Maninder, and Nitesh are game changers on the field and can single-handedly change the course of a match on any given day, and at Capri Sports we are confident that this trio will lead by example and help them overcome bad days on the mat. There will be more good days in comparison. These veterans have always spoken their hearts out, and we are confident that this will rub off on the rest of the team, who are already eager to play.”
