PKL 2024: Maninder and Fazel, Kabaddi buddies united at Bengal Warriorz by manifestation, planning

The Warriorz used the Final Bid Match (FBM) card to retain Maninder Singh, who will play his seventh season with the team, while Fazel Atrachali was roped in by the team for Rs. 50 lakh at the PKL 11 auction.

Bengal Warriorz’ Fazel Atrachali and Maninder Singh. | Photo Credit: Bengal Warriorz/Instagram

After facing each other for the past six seasons, Maninder Singh and Fazel Atrachali will be playing for the same team, Bengal Warriorz, for the first time in the 11th edition of the Pro Kabaddi League.

The Warriorz used the Final Bid Match (FBM) card to retain Maninder, who will play his seventh season with the franchise. On the other hand, Fazel was roped in by the team for Rs. 50 lakh at the PKL 11 auction.

However, this union between two stalwarts of the league, and good friends off the mat, wasn’t just a matter of auction strategy. One could say it was manifested into reality.

It didn’t matter that Atrachali-led Gujarat Giants pulled off a clean sweep over Maninder-led Warriorz last season. Both sat around after the matches, had a chat, and talked about things old friends do.

“He’s (Fazel) an old friend. Last year, we were talking with each other, mulling over the possibility of playing together in a team. Many said it wouldn’t be possible. But now that he is in our team, the atmosphere has changed,” Maninder told Sportstar.

In one of these post-match tete-a-tete’s, Maninder’s father Gurdeep Singh, who has been a circle kabaddi player, was present. And his word of advice might have also played a role in manifesting this union.

“It was one of the days after our match. We were all sitting together. My father also takes an interest in these conversations because he’s a kabaddi player. He was saying ‘badhiya defender, tere saath aana chahiye’ (he’s a good defender, he should join your team). I joked about this with Fazel,” the raider recalled.

Sharing the burden of pressure

The Warriorz had the least successful tackle percentage (33.86) at the end of the last PKL edition. Season nine was slightly better, with the team recording 37.36 per cent, but in season eight, the Warriorz found themselves languishing at the bottom with 34.02 per cent.

“We wanted a defender, and we got a strong one like Fazel. If a player of such legend joins, it motivates the others in the team,” Maninder said.

Due to a poor showing by the defensive department, the Warriorz have depended more on the raiding department, of which Maninder has been a key part.

“You can’t put all the pressure on one person. Now that Fazel’s here, that pressure will be shared equally. This will benefit the team,” Maninder said.

The Iranian defender concurred with his new teammate.

“Maninder told me that his father is happy that I am here. I’m happy because, with Maninder here, everything is not on my shoulders. He’ll handle the raiding, I’ll handle the defending. I think we’ll have a good season,” Atrachali told Sportstar.

“He’s (Maninder) a good person, and that’s important for me. He’s also a good player. Some raiders play in the PKL for a few seasons and then their performance dips. Maninder has been playing well since his first season,” he added.

Maninder felt that the collective matters the most at the end with the fans of Warriorz largely expecting the Indian to notch up raiding points and Atrachali to be solid with defending.

“See, the team has shaped up to be great. In every interview, I saw that there hasn’t been a bigger tournament than PKL. All teams put their everything to go all the way. Pro Kabaddi isn’t played by names…the team that performs well will do well,” Maninder said ahead of the 2024 season of the Pro Kabaddi League.