PKL 2017 | Team Preview : Bengaluru Bulls
Bengaluru Bulls are owned by the Kosmik Global Media Group and include stars like Rohit Kumar and Ajay Kumar in their ranks. Though the Bangalore franchise has had a mixed journey over the last four years, they will aim to win their first title at PKL season five. Here's a preview of the team.
Bengaluru finished the inaugural season in fourth place and managed to go one better in the second season, but they followed those up with dismal outings in the third and fourth seasons of the competition, finishing in the 7th and 6th positions respectively. Now, heading into the fifth season of the event, Bengaluru will aim to lift their first
Last season finish
Last season Bengaluru Bulls failed to hit their stride at any point as they won only 5 of their fourteen matches in the league stage and that eventually condemned them to a disappointing sixth place finish.
Bengaluru at the 2017 PKL auction
Bengaluru did manage to raise a few eyebrows with their choices at this year’s player auction. While most people were expecting the side to retain the services of Mohit Chillar, they chose to retain all-rounder Ashish Kumar instead. Having let Chillar go, Bengaluru picked up raider Rohit Kumar on the first day of the auction for a whopping Rs. 81 lakhs. They followed it up by picking up another raider in Ajay Kumar for 48.5 lakhs and a defender in Ravinder Pahal for 50 lakhs.
Squad for PKL Season V
Defenders – Ravinder Pahal, Sachin Kumar, Navjot Singh, Kuldeep Singh, Mahender Singh
Raiders – Rohit Kumar, Ajay Kumar, Sumit Singh, Harish Naik, Sinotharan Kanesharajah, Gurvinder Singh, Rohit, Sunil Jaipal
All Rounders – Sanjay Shrestha, Ashish Kumar, Ankit Sangwan, Amit, Preetam Chhillar
Key Players
Rohit Kumar - The 27-year-old was inarguably Bengaluru’s biggest purchase at this year’s auction. Having been bought as one of the most expensive players at this year’s auction, Rohit Kumar will look to repay the faith with his performances in the tournament. The fact that he has been named the captain of the side will only add to the pressure of the price tag. Rohit will, however, will take encouragement from the fact that he was adjudged the Most Valuable Player for the third edition of the tournament when he helped his former team Patna Pirates to the title, and his presence is certain to add a winning mentality to the side.
Ajay Kumar- Ajay Kumar is the other star raider in the Bengaluru ranks, and together with Rohit Kumar, the collective performances of the duo will go a long way in determining Bengaluru’s fortunes this season. In the 15 PKL matches he has played so far, Ajay has racked up 61 raid points at an average of over four points per game.
Ravindra Pahal- The 27-year-old is another
Strengths
Heading into
Speaking of the quality of players his side now has, Randhir added, "Rohit Kumar and Ajay Kumar are among the top eight raiders in the country. Ajay was one of the best players in the Federation Cup this year. Two of our all-rounders have won 'Best Player' awards in regional tournaments this year. Sachin Kumar, our left corner is a national gold medallist. We planned to have two players for each position,” as quoted by TOI. It is this combination of squad balance and squad depth that will be Bengaluru’s biggest strength at this year’s
Weaknesses
Bengaluru has been dealt a blow even before the start of this season’s
To conclude, on paper, Bengaluru have one of the most talented and capable sides of the tournament and they can undoubtedly go on to win the tournament, but the onus is on the team and the management to find the perfect match day squad and be consistent in their performances throughout the tournament over the next three months. However, if Bengaluru
Fixtures
30th July 17:30 Telugu Titans vs Bengaluru Bulls
4th August. 16:30 Bengaluru Bulls vs Tamil Thalaivas
5th August 17:30 Bengaluru Bulls vs UP Yoddha
6th August 17:30 Bengaluru Bulls vs Patna Pirates
8th August. 17:30 Bengaluru Bulls vs Telugu Titans
9th August. 16:30 Bengaluru Bulls vs Bengal Warriors
10th August. 17:30 Bengaluru Bulls vs Tamil Thalaivas
15th August. 17:30 Gujarat FortuneGiants vs Bengaluru Bulls
18th August. 17:30 Bengaluru Bulls vs Jaipur Pink Panthers
27th August. 16:30 Bengal Warriors vs Bengaluru Bulls
29th August. 16:30 Bengaluru Bulls vs UP Yoddha
06th September. 16:30 Dabang Delhi vs Bengaluru Bulls
09th September. 17:30 Haryana Steelers vs Bengaluru Bulls
10th September. 16:30 Bengaluru Bulls vs Puneri Paltan
16th September. 16:30 Bengaluru Bulls vs Telugu Titans
19th September. 17:30 Patna Pirates vs Bengaluru Bulls
23rd September. 16:30 Bengaluru Bulls vs Bengal Warriors
28th September. 16:30 Bengaluru Bulls vs U Mumba
05th October. 16:30 Tamil Thalaivas vs Bengaluru Bulls
15th October. 16:30 Bengaluru Bulls vs UP Yoddha
18th October. 16:30 Patna Pirates vs Bengaluru Bulls
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