List of PKL winning coaches from every season

These coaches played an integral role in their team’s success over the years.

In any sport, it is the players who get the credits for winning a title, and rightfully so. It is no different in Kabaddi and the Pro Kabaddi League (PKL) as the raiders or the defenders get the credit. On the other hand, supporters frequently overlook the head coach, who serves as the unit’s processing mechanism. In a large squad, the head coach serves as the central nervous system.

When coaches embark on a vision or map out a winning strategy with a certain group of players, they are sometimes overlooked in the glimmer of success. Especially in leagues as such PKL, where there is an Auction to pick players the Coaches pick their squad, work with multiple analysts to develop strategies, weigh their team’s advantages and disadvantages, and arm them for victory.

It has never been easy to be a coach, and it never will be. Let’s look back at the coaches who have won the PKL title in the decade-long history of the league.

Season 1- Kasinathan Baskaran – Jaipur Pink Panthers

The inaugural edition of the Pro Kabaddi League saw the game of Kabaddi getting its biggest platform ever as the world witnessed the wonderful game that Kabaddi is. With Navneet Gautam as their skipper and head coach Kasinathan Baskaran as their guiding force, the Abhishek Bachchan-owned team easily defeated most of the opposition in the league stage.

With 130 points at the end of the season, Raider Maninder Singh of the Panthers was in outstanding form and ranked among the top three raiders in the first edition. With 106 raid points, Jasvir Singh was also a key player, and Rohit Rana was the defensive anchor with 37 successful tackles.

Season 2 – Edachery Baskaran – U Mumba

Although Jaipur won the first edition, U Mumba was considered the team of the tournament as they failed in the finals. But it wasn’t the case in season 2 as Under the leadership of Season 1 MVP Anup Kumar, U Mumba would not be able to be stopped this time around in their pursuit of glory. U Mumba defeated the Panthers on the first day of play.

They proceeded to win every game at home to finish the season with an incredible 14 wins and only 2 losses. It was considered a dream team and it was the man from Kerala E.Baskaran who was the brain behind it. He unearthed many talents like Shabheer Bappu and Rishank Devadiga and also built one of the formidable defense combos of Mohit Chillar, Surender Nada, Jeeva Kumar, and Vishal Mane.

Season 3 – Sanjeev Baliyan – Patna Pirates

When PKL was introduced, many teams were worried about the success of the league and the fan following, except for one team. It was Patna Pirates when they acquired Rakesh Kumar. His heroics in the Asian Games especially against arch-rivals Pakistan has made him a fan favourite above all players. Under his captaincy, Patna qualified for playoffs twice.

But couldn’t lay their hands on the trophy, which was fulfilled by coach Sanjeev Baliyan who decided to build a young squad comprising of the likes of Pardeep Narwal, Rohit Kumar, and Sandeep Narwal. The trio dominated the season to give the men in green the first of their many trophies. The season also saw the revealing of the next Kabaddi superstar Pardeep Narwal.

Season 4 – Arjun Singh – Patna Pirates

If Patna Pirates relied on offense in the previous season, it was the defense they put forth as their primary weapon in season four which was scheduled just four months after their title triumph in season three. The defending champions roped in Arjun Singh as their new coach who was previously with Dabang Delhi as an assistant coach.

Despite a quick turnaround between two seasons, Patna did well thanks to Arjun Singh’s emphasis on fitness as he held a training camp for a month before the season started which ensured all the players were fit and ready to fire. They roped in Fazel Atrachali and Dharmaraj Cheralathan as their two corners and the duo came out to be the cornerstone of the title defense.

Season 5 – Ram Mehar Singh – Patna Pirates

Season five saw the introduction of four new teams and the players were spread among all teams. This is when the unearthing of local talent became paramount and none better than Ram Mehar Singh, who took over as the coach of Patna in 2017, after being the assistant coach since season two.

The experienced coach roped in Monu Goyat as their secondary raider and the duo dominated the opposition defenders for fun. While it was young Raiders, the defense was shrewd with the experience of Vishal Mane and Sachin Shingade. The move proved to be a game-changer as Patna achieved a rare treble as they completed a hat-trick of PKL titles.

Season 6 – Randhir Singh Sehrawat – Bengaluru Bulls

Randhir Singh is the only coach who has worked with a single team from the beginning. There have been multiple coaching changes at other franchises. While coaches have occasionally chosen to quit teams in search of greater possibilities, Randhir Singh is the only one who has been connected to a single team from the beginning. This demonstrates the franchise’s and the coach’s loyalty.

His investment in the franchise for years finally yielded the result in season six as Bengaluru Bulls became the fourth team to lift the PKL title. Bengaluru Bulls won 13 of their 22 games, dominating the Zone. They went straight to the first qualifying round and won the trophy. Pawan Sehrawat was the star of the show as he scored 271 points which helped the Bulls lift the title.

Season 7 – BC Ramesh – Bengal Warriors

Season 7 saw the Bengal Warriors win their first-ever PKL championship under the coaching of BC Ramesh. In an entertaining Ahmedabad final, Dabang Delhi was defeated by the Warriors. Unfortunately, Maninder Singh, the captain of the Warriors, had to miss the final game due to an injury. He was also their best raider that season with 205 raid points, yet they won thanks to the backup Raiders built by BC Ramesh. In this situation, Irani all-rounder Mohammad Nabibakhsh led the Bengal Warriors. In the championship game, Nabibakhsh assumed captaincy and led from the front, scoring ten points to propel his team to victory. He had strong backing from the experienced Sukesh Hegde, who made eight crucial points.

Season 8 – Krishna Kumar Hooda – Dabang Delhi KC

Under the direction of seasoned defender Joginder Narwal, Dabang Delhi won their maiden PKL Trophy with an exciting victory over the Patna Pirates. At 37-36 in Dabang Delhi’s favor at the final siren, the match was deserving of the championship. It was coach Krishna Kumar Hooda who put forth an experienced defensive unit and a young Raiding unit.

Naveen Kumar and Vijay Malik were the stars of Delhi’s title triumph. Naveen’s 13 points were nicely complemented by Vijay’s 14 points. With 207 raid points, Naveen finished the competition as the fourth-best raider. Having lost the final in season seven, it was coach Hooda’s backing that helped them come back from the disappointment to win the trophy.

Season 9 – Sanjeev Baliyan – Jaipur Pink Panthers

The squad captained by Sunil Kumar Malik overcame Puneri Paltan 33–29 to capture Jaipur’s second PKL title in 2022–2023. In the finals, Sunil Kumar led from the front and scored six points. Their skipper was supported by six raid points apiece from Ajith Kumar and Arjun Deshwal, who was named the MVP of the season.

Sanjeev Kumar Baliyan’s strength lies in unearthing raw talent and season nine was a classic example of it. While he found a future star in Arjun Deshwal, he roped in Ajith Kumar to support him, and to top it he bought Ankush and made him the best defender in his debut season. Ankush broke the record for the most tackles (89) by a rookie in a PKL season.

Season 10 – BC Ramesh – Puneri Paltans

Puneri Paltan wanted to bring in new blood to the team, so they were well-prepared. It was BC Ramesh’s tactic that was exemplified by the roping of Mohammadreza Chiyanneh and the selection of Aslam Inamdar as skipper. They dominated the competition and were flawless the entire season. The margins of each game revealed how dominating those victories were more than the wins themselves.

It was not just wins but a statement to the other teams. The coach backed his players to the tilt with Abinesh Nadarajan being a primary example. The cover defender had a great start to the season and when they played in the Chennai leg coach BC Ramesh asked his players to carry the Tamil Nadu-born player as a tribute to the fan’s support he also went on to say that Abinesh would play for the national team once. Creating such an environment has made players reveal themselves as Pune clinched the season 10 title.

For more updates, follow Khel Now Kabaddi on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram; download the Khel Now Android App or IOS App and join our community on Whatsapp & Telegram.