Auction Deep Dive : Should Bengal Warriors get Surjeet Singh back?

Bengal Warriors are in a fix. Should Bengal use their FBM (Final Bid Match) card on Surjeet Singh or do they let go? Bengal Warriors had just finished 8th (out of 8 teams) in PKL4 scoring just 26 points, half of what table-toppers Patna Pirates scored. Bengal Warriors decided to revamp the whole squad under the able guidance of Surjeet Singh. Surjeet and Ran Singh brought back the injury prone Maninder and honed him back into a super star raider. The Singh trio revived the Bengal fortunes to take them to playoffs in 2 back to back seasons. But more recently all doesn't seem well in the Bengal camp. 

Surjeet Singh's stats have started taking a down turn and this is a big reason for concern. 

Surjeet attempting tackles but with low success

We compared Surjeet Singh with the other top defenders in Zone B. Surjeet is attempting ~7 tackles in every match however the raider gets caught only ~3 out 7 tackles. This means he gets out in the remaining ~3 tackles and the raider escapes. Manjeet Chillar, Mahender Singh (Bengaluru Bulls) and Abozar also attempt around 7 tackles in a match but their performance is better. Abozar gets his raider in 60% of his tackles, Mahender ~ 57%, Manjeet ~51% of the tackles. 

Surjeet is attempting ~7 tackles in every match however the raider gets caught only ~3 out 7 tackles.

Ran Singh and Amit Hooda attempt few tackles but their success is higher compared to Surjeet. So even if they are scoring points, they are losing fewer too. This reflects in Kabaddi Adda player ranking where Ran Singh's is ranked higher than Surjeet Singh. 

The stand out raider in Zone B is none other than the young right corner from UP Yoddhas - Nitesh Kumar. The gutsy boy attempts almost 9 tackles in every match with an unbelievable success rate of 65% - which means he gets his raider in 6 out of 9 tackles. Kudos Nitesh!

Captain not staying on mat long enough

We looked at the time the defender spent on mat as a percentage of all the raids the team defended. Ran Singh. Ran Singh stays on the mat for 86% of the raids Bengal defends for compared to 78% by Surjeet Singh. As the captain of Warriors, Surjeet should really be vying for the top spot. Abozar also stays on mat for a spectacular 85% of raids that Telugu defends; and the young Nitesh is there on mat for 83% of the raids.

Surjeet performance average in Super Tackles

Whenever a raider faces 3 or few defenders, it is defined as a super tackle situation. We measure Super Tackle performance as the percentage of successful super tackles to all attempted super tackles for a defender. Empty raids in super tackle situations not included. The stand out Super tackle defender in Zone B is the Iranian right corner Abozar tasting success in 1 out of 3 super tackles attempted. 

Surjeet Singh being the captain of Bengal Warriors has the onus of saving the team from an all-out by finding more success in super tackle situations. However stats suggest that Surjeet gets a super tackle in only 1 out 5 attempts during super tackle situations. 

What should Bengal be willing to pay for Surjeet Singh? 

Bengal should be willing pay ~50 Lakhs for their captain Surjeet Singh

Surjeet Singh's number's have taken a pounding in PKL6. Yet he is respected by coaches across the country as India's top right cover who is disciplined and easy to work with. Surjeet can be expected to bring home ~50 tackle points (54 points in PKL 6). The average cost of a tackle point is ~45000 INR which means teams will be willing to pay ~25 Lakhs for Surjeet (his base price is 30 Lakhs given he is a category A defender). Surjeet is an able leader for Bengal Warriors - attributing another ~25 Lakhs for his ability to bring out the best in other players we believe Bengal should be willing pay ~50 Lakhs for their captain Surjeet Singh.