India’s second-most watched league, Pro Kabaddi League, is back for its 11th edition on October 18th, 2024.
After an auction that saw records broken left, right, and center, all 12 franchises are getting a new look, from the change in players to the coaching personnel.
We look at how season 6 champions Bengaluru Bulls line up for the upcoming 11th season of the Pro Kabaddi League:
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Bengaluru Bulls Season 10 Review
Bengaluru had a poor season despite spending big in last year’s auction as their big signings failed big-time.
Raider Vikas Kandola returned a measly 68 points in 19 games while their main raider Bharat barely crossed the century mark with 103 points.
In defence, Surjeet Singh was the best defender with 56 tackle points while Saurabh Nandal managed just 49 points. None of the players found a place near to top 10 in the stats leaderboard.
The only positive for Bengaluru was the emergence of Sushil as a raiding threat as he amassed 100 points from whatever opportunities he got.
Bengaluru finished eighth in the points table with eight wins and 53 points from the 22 games in the season.
PKL Season 11- Squad Changes
Coach Randhir Singh Sehrawat has completely overhauled the raiding and defensive unit by just retaining Sushil and Saurabh Nandal from last season’s main playing line-up.
Bharat Hooda was let go in the auction and ‘dubki king’ Pardeep Narwal has replaced him in the squad. Highest-scoring raider in PKL history with 1,690 points, Pardeep was bought for 70 lakhs in the auction.
Along with Pardeep, Bengaluru has added ever-consistent Ajinkya Pawar after buying him for Rs 1.10 crores in the auction along with youngster Jai Bhagwan.
Bengaluru Bulls full squad for PKL 2024
Sushil, Akshit, Manjeet, Pankaj, Ajinkya Pawar, Pardeep Narwal, Pramot Saising, Jai Bhagwan, Jatin, Ponparthiban Subramanian, Saurabh Nandal, Aditya Powar, Lucky Kumar, Parteek, Arulnanthababu, Rohit Kumar, Akshit, Hasun Thongkruea, Chandranaik M, Nitin Rawal
PKL 11 Preview- Strength and Weakness
Strength: The purchase of the league’s best raider in history, Pardeep Narwal along with ever-consistent Ajinkya Pawar has made the raiding unit formidable.
The presence of youngsters like Sushil and Jai Bhagwan makes it more comprehensive.
While Pardeep has been on a poor run as per his lofty standards, he can still deliver a 100-point season anytime, and the presence of Ajinkya Pawar will give him confidence.
Bengaluru also has a solid all-rounder in Nitin Rawal who is itching to make a comeback after missing season 10 due to injury. An explosive player who can be a menace on both ends of the mat on his day, Nitin Rawal has amassed 142 raid points and 94 tackle points in his PKL career.
Weakness: While raiding is their strength, defense is the weakness of Bengaluru Bulls who just have Saurabh Nandal as an experienced campaigner.
However, Saurabh Nandal, who has managed 246 tackle points in his PKL career, will need defensive support from what seems to be an inexperienced defensive unit on paper.
The likes of Parteek, Arulnanthababu, and Rohit Kumar have all competed in one season of PKL and have collectively accumulated 46 tackle points. Needless to say, the aforementioned defensive trio will need to raise their game in Season 11 along with Ponparthiban Subramanian, who has scored 40 tackle points over four seasons.
The team looks completely off-balance due to the inexperienced defensive unit.
Bengaluru Bulls Predicted line-up for PKL 11
Saurabh Nandal (Right Corner), Nitin Rawal (Left Corner), Pardeep Narwal (Center), Ajinkya Pawar (Right In), Sushil/Jai Bhagwan (Left In), Ponparthiban Subramanian (Right Cover), Parteek (Left Cover).