Pro Kabaddi League 2017 Season 5: Bengaluru Bulls' Ravinder Pahal to miss match against Dabang Delhi
The Pro Kabaddi League Season 5 is in its sixth week and the Kolkata leg is currently underway, with two days of action-packed matches still to go. The first game on the penultimate day sees the Bengaluru Bulls take on Dabang Delhi, in what promises to be an intriguing inter-zonal match between two teams who are in desperate need of points.
The Bulls find themselves in a spot of bother on the Zone B table, sitting in fourth place and having won just three games out of 10 this season. They will be eyeing the win against an inconsistent Delhi side but will have to do so without the services of Ravinder Pahal, who is a former Dabang Delhi man himself.
The defender will be serving his suspension after his red card against the Bengal Warriors on August 27 in Mumbai. Pahal was sent off after an altercation with the referees, who he is alleged to have abused. After a mighty struggle in a super tackle situation against the opposition raider Jang Kun Lee, he lost his temper and slammed the referee who had ruled the decision in favour of the attacker.
He received a suspension for the next game scheduled for August 29, but the match was postponed in an unprecedented first as the teams were unable to reach the match venue from their hotels owing to the heavy rains and subsequent traffic jams in Mumbai. The Bulls had to endure a torrid time as they were forced to walk back to the team hotel in the downpour for nearly three hours at around midnight.
As a result of the match being postponed, the suspension for Pahal still stands and he will not play against Delhi, a Bengaluru Bulls official has confirmed to Sportskeeda. The Bulls have a tough task ahead of them and will miss their right corner against Delhi, especially if Meraj Sheykh is on song.
The Bulls will play their next match after tonight against the Haryana Steelers on September 9 as the action shifts to Sonepat, Haryana.