PKL 2019 | Mohammad Nabibakhsh has already shown what he can do, says BC Ramesh

Bengal Warriors decided to let go of their former star Jang Kung Lee and they were looking forward to revamping their raiding department. With Maninder already there in the side, they have roped in Mohammad Nabibakhsh, Sukesh Hegde and K. Prapanjan ahead of the seventh season. Nabibakhsh is in an impeccable form, a testament to that was the match between World 7 Vs Indian 7 in which he made a Super Raid right at the end - with less than a minute on the clock and played a crucial role for the World 7 unit. 

“Nabibaksh is an all-rounder and he has already shown what he can do for Iran in the Asian Games and the Dubai Masters. His work rate can be compared with a player like Pawan Kumar of Bengaluru Bulls. We hope he will definitely contribute more than what Lee did for Warriors. He will take some burden off Maninder (Singh) in the raiding unit,” Ramesh told Sportstar.

“Maninder has improved this time, trying to enhance his skill-set in the practice. If he maintains this, then he can easily emulate his last year’s performance. He will also help in the defence. Prapanjan is fit and learning new things to become a better raider. He needs to improve on his defence though.”

Ramesh has made a transition from Bengaluru Bulls to Bengal Warriors for the seventh edition. He had also coached the Puneri Paltan unit in the fifth edition of the league. The Kolkata-based franchise has players like Jeeva Kumar in the defence along with Baldev Singh and he believes this can be helpful for them.

“Jeeva can play at any position. He is a smart defender who can read the situation of the game and play accordingly,” the Bengal coach explained.

The PKL organisers have now changed the structure of the league matches and there will no longer be the zonal format. Bengal Warriors were in Zone B earlier but with the new format, they will play two games each against all the remaining 11 teams in the league.

“It will end the debate of pool dominance. It will be a challenge for everyone to draw his strategies differently against every team. The playoff race has become wider. We will try to perform well in the league and go beyond the playoffs this time,” Ramesh signed off.