PKL 2025: Bengal Warriorz walks tightrope of experience and young hunger in bid for second Pro Kabaddi title

It has been an off-season of change for Bengal Warriorz. Experienced coach Naveen Kumar has taken charge from Prashant Surve. There has also been a change in the senior leadership, with the seasoned duo of Maninder Singh and Fazel Atrachali moving on. The team has also opted for a unique dual captaincy approach with Devank Dalal and Nitesh Kumar appointed captain and defence Captain respectively.

Bengal Warriorz has not qualified for the playoffs since it won the title in 2019, and finished a disappointing tenth last season.

Reflecting on the previous year, Naveen identified inconsistency as an issue that had plagued the side, saying, “If we talk about Bengal Warriorz in PKL 11, the performances started well, but then became up-down in the middle. If you look at it overall, our performance was not good and we secured tenth position.” 

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“Our raiding was up and down last year, so we have made it strong this year along with our defence,” he further added.

The team’s main way of strengthening its raiding was the signing of PKL 11’s breakout star, Devank, who scored 301 points for Patna Pirates. Warriorz’ Rs. 2.205 CR spend on the young raider made him the second-most expensive player in the auction.

“Devank is certainly a skillful player, he is a powerful raider. In the league we faced him only twice, but after playing kabaddi here against him for two months, we’ve learned his quality properly. He has skill, he has power, and the main thing is that his confidence is high, which should stay,” Nitesh said of his new co-captain.

The two-leader strategy is partly in place to manage the high expectations that will inevitably tail Devank this season.

“We believe that any raider will find captaincy difficult, because he has to raid and come back to the defence. So he doesn’t get time to control the team. Most teams have a captain and vice-captain, we have made a Team Captain (Devank) and Defence Captain (Nitesh),” Naveen said, explaining the team’s captaincy philosophy. 

“Devank’s tag was big, his price was big, and we wanted that he wouldn’t come under too much pressure, and take too much of the team’s load. That load will be given to Nitesh, he will guide and run the team,” the coach said whilst explaining the division. 

“Our main hope for Devank is that he plays his best game. He doesn’t need to focus on the team too much, Nitesh will handle that responsibility.”

One of the tasks ahead of Nitesh will be to mentor a refreshed, but young squad. He is confident about doing this as a senior player in the side, saying, “The main thing is to keep them motivated. They have done well in the camp, and they just need to bring that to the matches.”

“The only thing is that motivation should remain good, it shouldn’t become low. The players are doing well, but when in front of the lights and crowd, we just need to tell them that there is no difference between the match and the practice, the rest will be good,” he further added.

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South Korea’s Jang-Kun Lee is a familiar face returning to the side he made his name with in the first six seasons of PKL. Though he has found less frequent game time recently, the Warriorz are enthusiastic about what he can bring to the side.

“His relationship with the team management, and the players has been good. He is also an excellent player, he has some skill in him that other raiders do not have. So on the basis of his experience and attitude, we have picked him. He also played in international competition recently and performed well,” said Naveen. 

He is also hopeful that the experienced raider can help in the development of the team.

“He has two or three extra things that we will get an advantage from in the training and in competition from which our defence will improve and our raiders will get motivation,” he said. 

PKL 12 will also see some new rules, including the introduction of tiebreakers, a restructured points system, and a shortened season. Naveen is upbeat about this, saying “From these things, kabaddi will grow and interest will increase. Every match will be decided, no match will be left on equal points. Kabaddi will grow from these things, and that is excellent.”

He also expects to see a change in team strategies this season.

“Now, it doesn’t matter if teams lose by one point or ten points so teams will play aggressively. Teams will want to win matches, and will also fight till the end.” 

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Both men are positive for Bengal Warriorz going into the season, but their focus remains firmly on the individuals in the side. 

“Our main goal is that since our team is young, our players’ individual performances should improve. Our team will improve however much our players’ individual performances improve. That is our main goal” said coach Naveen.

Nitish further added, “The first thing is that the team should do well. If the team is doing well, the players will be doing well, so my main motivation is that I should give 100% for the team.”

Published on Aug 28, 2025