PKL 2019 | 5Ws and 1H – Dabang Delhi KC

07/14/2019

After making it to the playoffs for the first time ever in the PKL history in the previous season, Dabang Delhi KC will have an aim to make it to the next level this time around. The team have kept their core team intact and would want to ride on the mixture of youth and experience to win the title.

How they performed in the previous season?

The team from the national capital was not that great to start the season last time but they picked up pace in winning matches during the home leg and that turned things around in their favour completely. They won five out of their six home games and that helped them beat Puneri Paltan on the points table and qualify for the playoffs as the third team from the zone. With 11 wins from 22 games, the Joginder Narwal-led team accumulated 68 points in the league stage. They even managed to beat Bengal Warriors in the first eliminator but went down fighting against UP Yoddha and failed to march ahead in the tournament.

Who are the star players for Dabang Delhi?

Naveen Kumar was a brilliant find for Dabang Delhi last season and despite playing his first season, he took up the role of team’s primary raider really well. The team had decided to retain him for this season in the New Young Player (NYP) retention and would expect some strong show from him this time as well. Joginder and Sheykh were also retained and they bought back Pahal and Mane. They all are the big names in the Delhi camp and coach Krishan Kumar Hooda would want all of them to come good this season if they want to go a couple of steps ahead in the tournament this year.

Dabang Delhi Squad:

Meraj Sheykh, Joginder Narwal, Chandran Ranjit, Ravinder Pahal, Naveen Kumar, Vijay Malik, Vishal Mane, Anil Kumar, Saeid Ghaffari, Sombir, Pratik Patil, Neeraj Narwal, Satywan,

SportsCafe’s starting 7:

Raider – Meraj Sheykh

Left in – Chandran Ranjit

Right in – Naveen Kumar

Left corner – Joginder Singh Narwal (C)

Right corner – Ravinder Pahal

Left cover – Anil Kumar

Right cover – Vishal Mane

What is their strength?

Delhi deciding to retain most of their players from the previous season means that they have full faith in their experienced men like Joginder, Pahal, Sheykh and Mane. They also have the services two of their best young performers Naveen and Chandran Ranjit. The team balance in terms of both the departments and in terms of youth and experience make the Delhi unit one of the best ahead of the seventh season. The team would want Sheykh to be a proper guide for the raiding duo of Naveen and Ranjit on the mat. On the other hand, the defence combination of Joginder, Pahal and Mane bring in plenty of knowledge and game awareness for the Krishan Kumar Hooda-coached team.

Where they might fall behind other teams?

With a lot talked about the experience of the team, the biggest drawback with the side will be the age and fitness of the players. All the three primary raiders don’t have age on their side while their world-class all-rounder is also at the wrong side of 30. The team doesn’t have proper back-up for almost all of them.

Pahal and Mane were not in best of their forms in season 6 and it remains to be seen, how they start the fresh season for the same team. The raiding unit looks inexperienced if we take away Sheykh out of it who was only seen coming to his best last time during the home leg. Krishan Hooda will have some important questions and will certainly be trying to find out answers during the pre-season camps.

Why one should support Dabang Delhi?

Dabang Delhi have some experienced players who are traditionally associated with the sport and with the league as well. You have a reason to support the team as they have the likes of Joginder, Pahal, Mane and Sheykh. These players played in the previous season and with an amazing run in the home leg gave their fans a lot to cheer. After making it to the playoffs for the first time last year, the Delhi-based side would want their fans to come in big numbers and support the side for something similar this time around.

When they will play their games?

Dabang Delhi will play their home matches at the Thyagraj Sports Complex in the national capital on August 24, 25, 28 and 30 against Bengaluru Bulls, UP Yoddha, U Mumba and Patna Pirates respectively. However, prior to that, they will be playing away matches in Hyderabad, Mumbai, Patna, Hyderabad and Chennai. They start their campaign this season on July 24 in the first leg against Telugu Titans in Hyderabad on July 24.

Schedule:

July 24 vs Telugu Titans in Hyderabad

July 25 vs Tamil Thalaivas in Hyderabad

July 28 vs Haryana Steelers in Mumbai

August 1 vs Gujarat Fortunegiants in Mumbai

August 5 vs Jaipur Pink Panthers in Patna

August 10 vs Puneri Paltan in Ahmedabad

August 17 vs Bengal Warriors in Chennai

August 24 vs Bengaluru Bulls in Delhi

August 25 vs UP Yoddha in Delhi

August 28 vs U Mumba in Delhi

August 30 vs Patna Pirates in Delhi

September 4 vs Jaipur Pink Panthers in Bengaluru

September 7 vs Haryana Steelers in Kolkata

September 8 vs Tamil Thalaivas in Kolkata

September 15 vs Gujarat Fortunegiants in Pune

September 16 vs Telugu Titans in Pune

September 23 vs Bengaluru Bulls in Jaipur

September 26 vs Patna Pirates in Jaipur

September 29 vs Puneri Paltan in Panchkula

September 30 vs Bengal Warriors in Panchkula

October 5 vs UP Yoddha in Greater Noida

October 11 vs U Mumba in Greater Noida