Fine margins, big losses for Bengaluru Bulls in mixed PKL season

Bharat was the performer of the season for the team.

Bengaluru Bulls finished Pro Kabaddi League (PKL) season 9 as the semifinalist losing to eventual champions Jaipur Pink Panthers. Bengaluru had a consistent run throughout the season majorly occupying the top 4 spots. Till the midseason, the side was inside the top 2 spots but lost out on a few crucial games in the Hyderabad leg making them finish in the third spot. Overall the side had a good season qualifying for the playoffs for the fourth time successively.

Top Performers

Bharat

Arguably one of the best raiders among all the top stars this season. He was a secondary raider in the last season and in season 9 grabbed the opportunity of being the primary raider after Vikash Kandola failed to perform. Overall he finished the season with 279 raid points falling short of the 300 raid points mark and also scored 16 super 10s only behind Arjun Deshwal with 17.

Saurabh Nandal

Saurabh Nandal the right-corner defender finished the league as the third-highest tackle points holder with 72 points. He was retained by the franchise from season 8 and played a crucial role in defence ending up as a lead defender. Nandal has scored only three high 5s in the league but has scored points consistently.

Aman

The left-corner defender scored 60 tackle points and was the second most successful defender in the team ahead of captain Mahender Singh.This is the second consecutive season in which the defender has scored 50+ tackle points which is a good success considering he has played only two seasons in the PKL.  

Underperformer of the season

Vikash Kandola

Vikash Kandola was brought for 1.7 crores in the PKL 9 auctions and was assigned the lead raiders role after Pawan Sehrawat left the side. Kandola eventually finished the season with 135 raid points which is below par as per his standards and after the initial few games Bharat took over the raiding department. Randhir Singh Sehrawat and Vikash had an excellent camaraderie but the combination did not work out this season.

Coach’s report card

Randhir Singh Sehrawat is the only coach in the history of the PKL to coach a team (Bengaluru Bulls) for nine consecutive seasons. He is known for unearthing new talents and this season brought in a new talent Bharat who scored 279 raid points and finished second in the raid points table. The coach could have tried out different cover defenders in the league stages as it was an area of concern. Ponparthiban played well in the limited chances but that was only in the playoffs.

Lessons to be learned

The management should have tried out more options in the raiding department as well apart from the three main raiders (Bharat, Vikash Kandola, and Neeraj Narwal). GB More was on the bench throughout the league and is one of the experienced players in the PKL. He is known for scoring bonus points and is helpful in the defence as well.