Bengaluru Bulls


Bengaluru Bulls is a Kabaddi team based in Bengaluru, Karnataka that plays in the Pro Kabaddi League. The team were champions in Season 6 and are led by Pawan Sehrawat and coached by Randhir Singh. The team is owned by Kosmik Global Media. Bulls play their home matches at the Kanteerava Indoor Stadium. Bulls are one of the most successful teams in PKL history after winning the trophy for the first time by defeating the Gujarat FortuneGiants in the 2018–19 season, whilst also finishing a runner's up to U Mumba in 2015 and reaching the semi-finals in the inaugural 2014 season.

Franchise history

Pro Kabaddi League is a professional kabaddi league in India, based on the format of the Indian Premier League T20 cricket tournament. The first edition of the tournament was played in 2014 with eight franchises representing various cities in India. Bengaluru Bulls is a Bangalore based franchise owned by Kosmic Global Media.

Season 1

In the first season of Pro Kabaddi the Bulls started of strong with a 28-47 drubbing of Dabang Delhi, and went on to win two more in a row against the Puneri Paltans and the Bengal Warriors with star players Ajay Thakur and Manjeet Chiller leading the way. The bulls however slipped up but eventually made the playoffs in third place after winning their last two games against the Telugu Titans and the Jaipur Pink Panthers by one point each. They finished the season with a record of 8 wins one draw and 7 losses.
In the playoffs against the second seeded U Mumba however the Bulls lost to a brilliant Anup Kumar performance getting knocked out of the tournament and finishing fourth.

Season 2

In the second season the bulls retained their core squad of Ajay Thakur and Manjeet Chiller. The bulls started of the campaign with a 33-25 victory over the Bengal Warriors with Ajay Thakur scoring 11 points. However in their second game they were routed 36-23 by U Mumba. Following the heavy loss the bulls went on a three game winning streak which was ended by the Jaipur Pink Panthers. The bulls went the rest of the campaign winning five of their remaining eight games. This included wins against the Telugu Titans, the Puneri Paltans, Dabang Delhi and the Bengal Warriors. Both Manjeet Chillar and Ajay Thakur put up staggering numbers in these games. Manjeet Chillar scored 3 high fives while Ajay Thakur scored a super ten. The bulls finished third again in the regular season this time with a record of 9 wins and five losses.
In the semifinals the bulls faced of against southern rivals Telugu Titans who they had beaten twice in regular season. The game was dominated by the bulls but the Telugu Titans came back to cut the deficit to one in the final minutes. However Manjeet Chillar kept his calm in the final raid for the bulls and helped them reach their first PKL final where they would face the top seeded team U Mumba.
The bulls entered the final as underdogs against a U Mumba team which was filled with stars. The game was tightly contested from in the start with the two teams neck and neck. However in the 17th minute Manjeet Chillar who had already gotten three points in the raid selfishly tried to grab a fourth and was tackled by the U Mumba defence. U Mumba then pulled away taking an eight point lead. However Manjeet Chillar made up for his mistake and guided the bulls back to tie the game. Unfortunately in the end of the game for the bulls, two raids from Shabeer Bapu and Anup Kumar helped open up a five point lead for U Mumba and they kept their lead to become the second team to win the championship.

Season 3

After selling the core members of their final run, the bulls imploded in season 3.Despite winning their first game of the season against Dabang Delhi 35-29, the bulls managed to only collect one more win from their remaining 13 games in the league, finishing 7th in the league with a meager 14 points. The Bulls' 12 losses included a 21 point drubbing against U Mumba and a 17 point loss against Puneri Paltans. The two games the bulls won were against the Jaipur Pink Panthers and Dabang Delhi, who were the two worst teams other than them. This has been the Bulls worst season till date.

Season 4

In the season 4 auction, the bulls bought in season 3 MVP and champion Rohit Kumar to help out with the attack and also the corner duo of Mohit Chillar and Surendra Nada to help out with defense, hoping to improve on the 2 win season they were just coming off.The bulls came out of the gates on fire. They lost only 1 of their first 5 games, and were second on the table well on track to make the playoffs. Rohit Kumar was in stellar form racking up important points in the final minutes to help the bulls win narrowly against Puneri Paltans, the Bengal Warriors and the Telegu Titans. However, just as Rohit Kumars form dipped, the bulls too stopped performing, and just after a stellar start in their first five games, the bulls lost 6 in a row. By the time they picked up their form in consecutive wins against the Puneri Paltans and U Mumba, they were already well out of the playoff race.They lost their last game of the season against Pune, ending up with a record of 5-1-8. They finished the season 6th on the table an improvement from the year before. However, they missed out on the playoffs for the second consecutive year.

Season 5

After the expansion of the league from 8 to 12 teams, the teams were divided into two zones. The Bulls were put into Zone B along with the two time reigning champions Patna Pirates, and also Bengal Warriors, Tamil Thalaivas, Telegu Titans and U.P Yoddha. This made it easier for teams to qualify with the top three from each zone qualifying.Season 5 for the bulls was almost identical with Season 4. They got out to a flying start on the back of Rohit Kumar, who was now a star raider, and veteran defender Ravinder Pahal. They lost only 2 of their first 6 games, putting them in a good position to make the playoffs. However, identical to the previous season the bulls proceeded to loose 6 in a row, mainly due to the weakness of their corner positions due to the loss of both Mohit Chillar and Surendar Nada. The bulls also did not help Rohit Kumar in attack, which led to their vulnerability. After finally breaking their loosing streak with a 24-20 win over Pune and a 29-29 draw against the Telugu titans, the bulls again went on a 4 game loosing streak almost putting them out of contention. The bulls recovered their form just in time, winning consecutive matches against the Tamil Thalaivas and Dabang Delhi. With 3 games remaining the bulls had to win all three and hope U.P Yoddha picked up only one or less point from their remaining three games, 2 of which were incidentally against the bulls.In the Bulls-Yoddha first matchup, the bulls won 38-32, just allowing U.P to salvage a point. In the second game the bulls demolished and obliterated U.P, winning 64-24. This game is till date the highest margin of victory ever. The 64 points scored by them is the third highest and the 30 points scored by Rohit Kumar is the Third highest number of points scored by anyone one player in a game.Going in to the last game against Patna the bulls needed to win and hoped U.P Yoddha lost by more than 7 points.Neither of them went the bulls way. Even though U.P Yoddha lost against Pune they picked up the 1 point needed by them to guarantee a playoff spot, and the bulls drew 29-29 to eventual champions Patna, which in turn ensured that they did not make the playoffs for a third straight year. The bulls finished 4th in zone B with a 8-3-11 record and 37 points. Rohit Kumar who had a stellar season finished second in the total raid points behind league MVP Pardeep Narwal.

Season 6

Bengaluru had a stellar draft night, bringing in veteran raider Kashling Adake and risking 52.8 lakhs to bring Pawan Sehrawat to help Rohit Kumar in attack. They also brought in stellar defender Mahender Singh to help out in defence. Bangalore's draft night acquisitions Pawan sehrawat and Kashiling Adake had stellar first 2 games. Pawan Sehrawat scored a whopping 34 points while Kashiling Adake chipped in with 17 in Bangalores consecutive victories against a star-studded Tamil Thalaivas team. Despite loosing their next game against Pune, the bulls proceeded to win four in a row. Pawan Sehrawat failed to score a super ten in only one of these games, which included a 20 point performance in a 42-34 win against the Haryana Steelers. The 4 win streak also included a game against the Patna Pirates who were the reigning three time champions. With the game tied 41-41 with 27 seconds to go, the Bengaluru defense tackled Manjeet to get a one-point lead. In the ensuing do-or-die raid for the bulls in which they needed to get a point, Pawan Sehrawat kept his calm and picked up 1 point helping the bulls to a thrilling win. The Bulls dipped in form losing to U Mumba, Bengal Warriors and the Patna Pirates in their next 6 matches. They played out a thrlling encounter against Zone A leaders Gujarat Fortunegiants on the 17th of November, a game that coincided with Pawan Sehrawats 10th super ten. With the game tied 29-29, Fortunegiants raider Rohit Gulia got a vital bonus point, but on the way back to the line was pushed out by Pawan Sehrawat. The game hence ended 30-30. The bulls collected convincing wins against Jaipur, the Tamil Thalaivas and the Telugu Titans winning by 13,14 and 16 points respectively.The deadly Rohit Kumar-Pawan Sehrawat duo in attack and Mahendar Singh and a defender converted Kashling Adake handling the defending, the bulls collected 17 points from their last five league games, finishing on top of the Zone B standings with a 13-2-7 record, the third best in the divison behind the Gujarat Fortunegiants and U Mumba.Hence, the bulls qaulified for the playoffs for the third time in franchise history.
After finishing first in their zone, the bulls went up against Zone A toppers Gujarat Fortunegiants, with the winner booking a place in the final. Gujarat went into the game as favorites, and they played like favorites in the first half. The fortunegiants defence which was the best in the league reduced Pawan and Rohit to a meager 6 points, and Kashiling Adake could not help out either. However important moments from defender Mahender Singh and little-used substitute Sumit Singh ensured the bulls stayed in the hunt. The score was 13-14 at half-time. The bulls came out better in the second half managing to tie the game at 16-16. However in the next do-or-die raid Pawan Sehrawat got tackled, and the bulls crumbled to an all-out, and the score was 26-20 to the fortunegiants. With the Bulls almost out of the match, Pawan Sehrawat made the most important move of the game. He touched a defender, and then did a 'dubki' to get two more, thus cutting the lead to only 3. On his next raid with only 3 Gujarat Fortunegiants defenders remaining, he caught all of them and hence put the bulls up by 3 points at 26-29. The bulls never looked back from here and won the game 29-41, and booked their ticket to the final for the second time in franchise history.
In the finals the bulls played the fortunegiants again in the rematch of qualifier 1,as the fortunegiants had defeated the U.P Yoddha to reach the final.The game was neck and neck for the first ten minutes. With the score tied at 7-7, Pawan Sehrawat was tackled by the Gujarat defense. After that the bulls managed to pick up only 2 points in the rest of the half, as Gujarat brought out a vital all-out upon the Bulls. Pawan Sehrawat was the lone ranger for the bulls, as captain Rohit Kumar went cold in the most important game of the season. The defense too was very vulnerable. The Bulls entered the break loosing by 7 points, which was their highest deficit at half time in the whole season. The bulls came out better in the second half. They reduced Gujarat to only 4 points in the opening 7 minutes of the half, while picking up seven of their own. With the scored at 17-21 and 10:30 remaining in the game, Pawan Sehrawat collected two points, reducing the Fortunegiants to only two players and effectively changing the momentum of the game. With the Bulls trailing by 3 and the Fortunegiants only having two players, Pawan Sehrawat went into the raid, Gujarat star defender Parvesh Bhainswal attempted an ankle hold, but Pawan's foot slipped out of his grasp, and he escaped. He also touched the other player, Rohit Gulia on the way back to the line ensuring an all-out and giving Bengaluru a vital 1 point lead. Following the all-out, the bulls held on to the lead, despite a mistake from Mahendar Singh which cost them one point. Pawan Sehrawat picked up two more raid points to keep the one point lead in-tact. However, with the bulls in possession of a one point lead at 25-24, Rohit Gulia got a 3 point raid for Gujarat giving the Fortunegiants a 2 point lead. The two teams kept trading point for point till it was 29-28 in favour of Gujarat. A vital thigh hold from Mahendar Singh on Gujarat raider Sachin Tanwal tied the game and helped get Pawan Sehrawat back on the court. From that point onward Pawan never looked back, he picked up 3 points giving the Bulls the lead again. With Gujarat left with only 2 players on the mat, Pawan easily finished the game off by giving Gujarat an all-out by picking up both defenders, Amit Kharb and Parvesh Bhainswal which gave the Bulls a 29-37 lead with 1:29 remaining. The Fortunegiants tried to engineer a comeback but the lack of time and a running-hand touch point by Pawan Sehrawat ensured the Bulls won their first PKL title, which was also the first major title for the city Bangalore in the four major sporting leagues. The 22 points scored by Pawan in the 38-33 victory is the highest points total by a player in a finals game.

Current Squad

Sponsors

YearSeasonKit ManufacturersShirt Sponsor
2014I
2015IIVatsKotak
2016III
2016IVOmtex
2017VARMRKarbonn Mobiles
2018VIShiv-NareshAbhiPaisa
2019VIIVatsAshirvad Pipes

Current Technical Staff

Seasons

Season I

Points Table

Bulls secured fourth place in the first season.

Season II

Points Table

Bengaluru Bulls finished second in the second season.

Season III

Points Table

Performance

MatchDateOpponentVenueScore
230 January 2016Dabang DelhiVIZAG35–29
83 February 2016Patna PiratesBENGALURU24–33
104 February 2016Bengal WarriorsBENGALURU24–33
125 February 2016Jaipur Pink PanthersBENGALURU36–26
146 February 2016Telugu TitansBENGALURU26–35
2010 February 2016U MumbaKOLKATA28–29
2814 February 2016Puneri PaltanPUNE27–29
3117 February 2016Patna PiratesPATNA32–36
3218 February 2016Dabang DelhiPATNA32–36
3620 February 2016Jaipur Pink PanthersJAIPUR21–30
3821 February 2016Telugu TitansJAIPUR22–40
4425 February 2016U MumbaDELHI18–39
4825 February 2016Puneri PaltanDELHI27–44
531 March 2016Bengal WarriorsMUMBAI22–26

Season IV

Points Table

Performance

MatchDateOpponentVenueScore
326 June 2016Bengal WarriorsMumbai24–23
1030 June 2016Jaipur Pink PanthersJaipur28–28
132 July 2016Dabang DelhiJaipur24–32
174 July 2016Puneri PaltanHyderabad29–27
195 July 2016Telugu TitansHyderabad28–30
227 July 2016Patna PiratesPatna25–31
238 July 2016U MumbaPatna23–24
2912 July 2016Telugu TitansBengaluru24–32
3113 July 2016Jaipur Pink PanthersBengaluru22–24
3314 July 2016Patna PiratesBengaluru23–38
3515 July 2016Dabang DelhiBengaluru20–40
4219 July 2016Bengal WarriorsKolkata27–25
4923 July 2016U MumbaMumbai28–27
5527 July 2016Puneri PaltanDelhi33–36

Season V

Points Table

Season VI

Season VII

Honours