New-look Bengaluru Bulls aim to reclaim lost glory in PKL Season 12

Pro Kabaddi Season 6 champions Bengaluru Bulls will be looking to get their hands on the prestigious PKL title once again in Season 12 after a lacklustre campaign last season.

Ahead of PKL Season 12, the Bulls released Randhir Singh Sehrawat from his responsibilities as head coach after finishing at the bottom of the Season 11 league standings with 19 points from 22 games. Legendary Randhir Singh was at the helm of the Bulls since the inaugural season and guided them to the Playoffs in six out of the 11 seasons.

Two-time PKL title-winning coach BC Ramesh has joined the Bengaluru-based team as their new head coach. BC Ramesh was the assistant coach of the Bulls during their title-winning campaign in 2018-19. He returns to the franchise after leading Bengal Warriorz (Season 7) and Puneri Paltan (Season 10) to PKL triumphs.

Under their newly-appointed head coach, the Bulls were one of the busiest teams at the PKL Season 12 Player Auction and completed a major squad overhaul with plenty of exciting talents. Having spent INR 4.949 crore at the auction, the Bulls added a total of 15 players, apart from retaining eight New Young Players (NYPs), in their bid for PKL Season 12 title.

With that in mind, let’s assess the strengths and weaknesses of their squad ahead of Season 12.

Strengths

The Bulls’ formidable defensive unit will be their biggest strength in the upcoming edition of the Pro Kabaddi. They have bolstered their defence by acquiring the services of right corner Yogesh Dahiya at the Season 12 Player Auction for a whopping INR 1.125 crore - the most expensive Indian defender in the PKL auction history. Yogesh has been one of the consistent defenders in the last two PKL seasons and has racked up 149 tackle points in 45 matches.

The PKL Season 6 winners have further strengthened their defence by roping in experienced left corner Ankush Rathee at his base price of INR 30 lac. He made an instant impact in Season 9, earning the Best Defender award in his very first year. With 227 tackle points in 69 games, he remains one of PKL’s most consistent and feared defenders.

The Bulls also snapped up right cover Sanjay Dhull for INR 60 lac and left cover Dheeraj for INR 40.20 lac at the Season 12 Player Auction.

Additionally, the likes of Lucky Kumar (right cover), Deepak S (left corner), Shubham Rahate (left cover), Manish and Satyappa Matti (right cover) are some of the other talented defenders in their squad.

Weaknesses

While their defence looks strong on paper, Bengaluru Bulls’ attack leaves much to be desired.

Ahead of the Season 12 Player Auction, the Bulls retained young raiders Pankaj and Manjeet. They also added right raider Aashish Malik from the nominated New Young Players category for the upcoming season.

The Bulls invested INR 53.10 lakh in raider Akash Shinde at the auction. While he was the top raider for Puneri Paltan in Season 9 with 139 raid points and has notched up a total of 296 raid points in 57 PKL matches, the squad lacks other well-established raiders with proven success in the league.

Even though they also have Pirati Srisivatejesh (left raider), Ganesha B. Hanamantagol (right raider), Shubham Bitake and Mahipal in their ranks, it remains to be seen if these raiders can raise their game in the upcoming season.

Opportunities

After two consecutive seasons of league-stage exits, the new-look Bulls will aim to reclaim the PKL trophy under the guidance of two-time PKL title-winning head coach BC Ramesh.

With a larger role expected this season, Akash Shinde will also have the opportunity to assert his dominance and emerge as a key figure in the Bulls' raiding unit.

Furthermore, the forthcoming season will offer a perfect platform for the likes of rising stars such as Aashish Malik, Dheeraj, Shubham Bitake, Alireza Mirzaeian and Ahmadreza Asgari to showcase their talents and make a mark in the league.

Threats

The Bulls will be without a strong leadership figure in their squad in PKL Season 12, which could pose a major threat in crunch match situations due to the lack of experience on the mat.

In addition to the leadership void, a lack of experienced raiders poses a significant challenge for the team and could hamper their chances of securing a Playoff berth. As a result, the Bulls may find themselves heavily reliant on Akash Shinde, with the pressure on their young and relatively untested raiders to step up and support the attack in their push for a top-six finish.

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