Bengal Warriorz, a prominent team in the Pro Kabaddi League (PKL), are currently enduring one of their most challenging seasons to date.
Turning the clock back, the Warriorz had their first better run in the PKL in their third season, making the playoffs. However, following a dismal campaign in 2016, the team was completely restructured. The reconstruction was successful, with continuous playoff participation in 2017, 2018, and 2019.
Now then, once again after a disappointing Season 11, the Warriorz entered PKL 2025 with a fresh roster and renewed ambition. Their raiding force is powerful, led by Devank Dalal, the PKL’s most expensive Indian signing, and including foreign talent like as Jang Kun Lee. However, defence remains a problem, particularly with the departure of Fazel Atrachali, putting the onus on younger defenders to rise to the occasion. Bengal will attempt to return to the playoffs under new head coach Naveen Kumar, but much will depend on defensive coherence and consistent raiding assistance for Devank.
As the squad seeks to bounce back in PKL 2025, the emphasis hasn’t just been on on-court play, it has also been on off-mat strategies. Bengal Warriorz have adopted a comprehensive strategy to rebuilding, from making wise auction decisions to increasing fan involvement and more. Mr Apurv Gupta, COO, Contact Sports, Capri Sports, and Bengal Warriorz recently spoke with SportsMint Media about the reasoning behind their initiatives, shedding insight on this bigger goal.
1. What were the key business decisions that influenced your auction strategy? Did commercial considerations play a role, especially in retaining your core?
When you enter an auction, your primary focus is on building a strong team. Of course, there are commercial considerations, but every franchise ultimately wants to assemble a squad that fans can connect with and support. At the start of the auction, you never know who you’ll end up with. For instance, we had hoped to bring back Maninder, who has been a key part of our DNA for seven seasons, but unfortunately, it didn’t happen. While that was disappointing, we must look ahead, for our fans and for the future. Our guiding principle has always been clear: build a team that our fans can be proud of.
2. From a sponsorship perspective, how do you measure the ROI of branding and promotional campaigns?
That’s something our specialized teams and external partners track closely. There are established industry practices, measuring sponsor assets, deliverables, and how they perform across platforms. We rely on these expert evaluations, and the ROI data is shared transparently with our sponsors. It’s quite a standardized process across sports, and PKL is no different.
3. How do you ensure fan engagement beyond the PKL season?
That’s one of our key focus areas. The season is, of course, the peak, but off-season engagement is equally important. Our marketing team works hard to create relevant content, explore on-ground activations, and tap into digital innovations. You’ll see more of our presence in the coming year, both online and within kabaddi communities. It’s about listening to what fans want, creating behind-the-scenes content, and experimenting with new technologies to keep them hooked even after the season ends.
4. Do you target specific audiences with campaigns, or do you try to appeal broadly?
It depends on the campaign. Last year, with someone like Shivaji Satam, it wasn’t about targeting one audience, the appeal was universal. Even if you hadn’t seen his iconic show, the curiosity factor drew you in. In other cases, when we work with personalities or ideas that resonate with a specific demographic, we focus our targeting accordingly. But the overall goal remains to engage as many fans as possible while staying authentic to our brand.
5. With PKL overlapping with ISL, Premier League, and international cricket, how do you ensure your fans stay connected to kabaddi?
It’s about creating unique and engaging experiences. Influencer-driven campaigns, behind-the-scenes access, and storytelling around our players help deepen the fan-team connection. Fans follow multiple sports, but we want to make sure our content keeps them emotionally invested in kabaddi and in our team. That emotional connection is what sustains their loyalty, no matter what else is happening in the sports calendar.
