Pro Kabaddi League 2017: Bengal Warriors seek inspiration from IPL side Kolkata Knight Riders

Kolkata: Leaving behind four forgettable seasons, a revamped Bengal Warriors are seeking inspiration from city’s cricket franchise Kolkata Knight Riders ahead of the upcoming Pro-Kabaddi League. KKR, the two-time Indian Premier League champions’ amazing turnaround after four trophy-less seasons, is what Bengal Warriors are looking at. The last edition’s laggards have not only have changed their coach and but have retained only two players — Jang Kun Lee and Ravinder Kumawat. [caption id=“attachment_3855681” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] File image of Bengal Warriors. Image Courtesy: Twitter/@BengalWarriors[/caption] Bengal Warriors finished at the bottom of the table last season and CEO Sandip Tarkas told the team at their first meeting: “We cannot go worse from here. We can only go up.” “Kolkata Knight Riders have been an inspiring story and we are looking forward to do a KKR this time,” he said during the unveiling of the squad. The 18-member squad will be led by India defender Surjeet Singh and coached by 2002 Asian Games gold medalist K Jagadeesha, who represented Jaipur Pink Panthers in the inaugural season. Korean raider Lee has been with Bengal Warriors since first season and is also the highest paid player in the team fetching Rs 80.3 lakh followed by Surjeet (Rs 73 lakh). “The side looks balanced. We have had a fruitful six weeks’ camp and the team has shaped up well,” Tarkas said. Bengal Warriors’ best finish has been in season three when they made the play-offs. Pro-Kabaddi League season five will be longer with four new teams — Haryana Steelers, Gujarat Fortunegiants, UP Yodha and Tamil Thalaivas — joining the existing eight franchises. There will be 138 matches spread over three months beginning on 28 July. “We are prepared for the longer league. The first target is to qualify for the last-four round and then win the title from there,” said captain Surjeet, who played for UMumba last season. The Bengal leg will be from 1-7 September. Meanwhile, Tarkas also said that talks with Bollywood star Akshay Kumar for buying stakes in the team is at an ‘advanced stage’. “It may happen that he may pull out of the deal. Until he signs the papers I cannot announce his name. We are waiting for his return from London and in two days’ time the picture will be clear,” the CEO said. “Not just glamour quotient, Akshay Kumar represents the ethos of the sport. He is the fittest Bollywood actor at the moment and has the right values.” The league already has star quotient in Abhishek Bachchan (co-owner of Jaipur Pink Panthers) while Kamal Haasan will be the brand ambassador for Chennai franchise Tamil Thailvas co- owned by Indian cricket icon Sachin Tendulkar.