Pro Kabaddi 2021: Bengaluru Bulls' all-time PKL 7
The Bengaluru Bulls have always been a great team to watch during all the seasons of Pro Kabaddi. Despite being able to put up consistent performers, the Bulls have failed to consistently find glory.
The team has reached the top of the PKL league only once while coming close to laying their hands on the trophy a couple of times.
Over the years, the Pro Kabaddi team has seen some excellent players with big names like Ajay Thakur and Manjeet Chillar being part of the team. Over the past couple of years, the Bulls team has seen some rising stars coming through their ranks.
We take a look at the players who made the best of all-time starting seven for the Bengaluru Bulls.
Left Corner: Dharmaraj Cheralathan
The experienced campaigner has been playing the sport for about two decades. He has been part of seven different PKL teams, making him the first player to do so.
During the PKL journey, Cheralathan spent the first two seasons with the Bengaluru Bulls, during which he had a productive campaign.
In the first season, he had led the Bengaluru Bulls defense with 52 points, of which he had 39 tackle points. Season two saw Cheralathan score 61 points, out of which 42 points came in the tackle.
Left in: Pawan Sehrawat
The raider needs no introduction after the way he has performed in the last two seasons. Pawan Kumar Sehrawat started his career with the Bengaluru Bulls before moving to Gujarat Fortune Giants in season five.
However, he made his return to the Bengaluru team in season six where he was instrumental in helping the team to their maiden title. Sehrawat’s 22 points in the season six finale are the most by any player in a final.
Left Cover: Manjeet Chhillar
Manjeet Chhillar needs no introduction since he was the face of the Bengaluru Bulls for the first two seasons. He, along with Ajay Thakur, almost gave the team their first PKL title in the first two seasons itself only to come up short of the target.
Manjeet was adjudged the best defender during the inaugural season following which he picked up the award for Most Valuable Player the following season.
Chhillar is one of only two players with over 200 raid points and tackle points in Pro Kabaddi. After the Bulls, Chhillar made the switch to Puneri Paltan, Jaipur Pink Panthers and then Tamil Thalaivas.
Center: Ajay Thakur
Ajay Thakur is one of the biggest names in PKL history and is a crowd-puller thanks to his killer raiding skills on the Kabaddi mat. He was the fourth most successful raider while playing for the Bengaluru Bulls in the first season.
The second season with the Bulls saw him form to take a dip as he could score a total of just 80 points. The next couple of seasons saw Ajay Thakur make a move to two different franchises, i.e, Puneri Paltan and Tamil Thalaivas.
Check out the updated Pro kabaddi points table here.
Right Cover: Ashish Kumar Sangwan
Ashish Kumar Sangwan started his PKL career with the Bengaluru Bulls during season two and slowly went on to develop himself into a reliable all-rounder.
From season three to season six the all-rounder had a productive campaign, scoring more than 30 points while playing for the Bengaluru Bulls.
Right in: Rohit Kumar
Rohit Kumar has been part of the Bengaluru Bulls team for the past four seasons. He was handed the captain's armband after which he showed his ability to remain calm under pressure and lead the team to glory back in 2016.
Overall, he has played 91 matches and has a total of 711 points to his name. Rohit Kumar has recorded at least 100 points in every single season since his debut in season three.
Left Corner: Mohit Chhillar
Mohit Chhillar played for U Mumba before being signed by the Bengaluru Bulls in season four. He did not disappoint his fans in that single-season scoring 47 tackle points in 14 matches.
His average of 3.54 tackle points in season three was the second-best among the right corners.
The defender has made the right corner position his own and has been a mainstay in the league since its inception and continues to play a crucial role in that position.