Pro Kabaddi League 2018: 5 reasons why Patna Pirates will find it difficult to win PKL Season 6

The Pro Kabaddi League season 6 is just a few days away from kickoff as the thrilling action on the mat begins on October 7, 2018, at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium in Chennai, Tamil Nadu. The series of legs will continue for a duration of three months and end with the grand finale in Mumbai where the champions will be crowned at the NSCI Dome.

One team that is no stranger to winning the Pro Kabaddi League is the Patna Pirates. The Pirates three-time defending champions of the Pro Kabaddi League and have been the most successful franchise in the league over five seasons. Pardeep Narwal has been their standout for these championship triumphs and has emerged as the most lethal raider in the league with his 'Dubkis' and zen-like composure during raids rampaging all the defences in the league.

However, despite winning three titles on the trot, the Patna Pirates may be in for a rough ride this season and could find it difficult to make it an unprecedented four in a row. Here are some reasons that Patna Pirates might not win the Pro Kabaddi League Season 6.

#5 Pardeep Narwal's form for the Indian national team

Pardeep Narwal's rise in the past three seasons as the best raider on the mat has been nothing short of phenomenal. He made his way into the national side and won the 2016 World Cup and performed well in the mega event.

However, in the past two international events for the national side, which were the Kabaddi Masters Dubai 2018 and the Asian Games 2018, Narwal has not been the same exciting raider that we have all seen in the Pro Kabaddi League. He looked vulnerable going up against the strong Iranian, Korean and Pakistani defences and had to sit out for fairly long period of times during the matches. A poor run of momentum could hamper him as well as Patna's chances to win the fourth title in a row.

#4 Loss of Monu Goyat

Monu Goyat made history this year after he was signed by the Haryana Steelers for a massive amount of 1.51 Crores making him the biggest signing in the history of the Pro Kabaddi League.

Patna Pirates will be negatively impacted after the dynamic raider's departure as he was the perfect partner to Pardeep Narwal in the attack. He used his raiding smarts on the mat to keep the scoring going and was especially important for the Pirates to help revive Pardeep Narwal whenever he was struck out. Even though the Pirates have signed Deepak Narwal, Surender Singh and Tushar Patil, Monu Goyat will be sorely missed.

#3 Pressure on the new raiding unit

The Patna Pirates signed a host of raiders in this year's auction after they lost out on Monu Goyat to the Haryana Steelers. Deepak Narwal, Tushar Patil, Surender Singh and young players like Manjeet and Vikas Jaglan will be a part of the supporting cast for Pardeep Narwal this season.

The raiding unit will be under pressure to deliver as they will have to step up in order to play the complementary role to Narwal, who is expected to fire on all cylinders. If they are unable to live up to their expectations, it could become tough for a raider of Pardeep Narwal's stature to mount the challenge for the title win.

#2 Inexperienced defensive lineup this year

Patna Pirates banked on Pardeep Narwal to fire them to the title last season with his raiding exploits on the mat. However, their defence was not up to mark last season apart from the corner defender Jaideep, who was one of the best defenders in the league in Season 5.

Jaideep has been retained by the Patna Pirates for this season as well. However, the other defenders in the squad - Manish, Vikas Kale, Ravinder Kumar and Vijay Kumar form an inexperienced lineup for the Pirates. The all-rounders like Kuldeep Singh, Jawahar Dagar and even the Korean players Hyunil Park and Tae Deok Eom will have to buck up their act in order to present a credible defensive threat or the teams will not find it difficult to score against Patna this year.

#1 Over-reliance on star raider Pardeep Narwal could hurt the Pirates

Pardeep Narwal has been the bonafide star for the Patna Pirates in their three title-winning campaigns in the past three seasons. He has been rampant against all the teams in the league and almost scored points at will.

However, the Patna Pirates have been heavily reliant on the star raider to deliver the bulk of points on the mat. If any team is able to overcome him and keep him out of action for a considerable amount of time, then the Pirates could find it very tough to make it this year.