From left: Surjeet Singh, Vikash Kandola, Randhir Singh (coach), Saurabh Nandal (captain) and Bharat of the Bengaluru Bulls during the press conference at Kanteerava Indoor Stadium in Bengaluru on Wednesday.
DH Photo/ B H Shivakumar
Bengaluru: Many players have come and gone in the Bengaluru Bulls’ set-up since Pro Kabaddi League’s (PKL) inception, but coach Randhir Singh Sherawat has been the team’s only constant through all the 10 seasons.
“And I intend to go nowhere else ever,” he assured, when a question about his loyalty towards the franchise was posed during a press conference here on Wednesday.
“I never put my name into any coaching list when PKL first began. The owners of Bengaluru Bulls, after looking at my achievements, came to me to ask if I was interested in taking up the role,” added the 65-year-old, who has won the multiple nationals as a player before guiding various state sides to 22 national titles as a coach.
“I’m not the most successful coach in the league either. We have won the title once, finished runners-up once and signed-off third four times. Though I have been getting offers from other teams since season 4, the faith of the owners and, more importantly, the love of the fans here holds me back.”
With the second leg of PKL slated to begin in the city on December 8, Sherawat’s Bulls hope that the home advantage will flip their fortunes after beginning this season with two straight losses.
“We made a few silly mistakes in the dying moments of both the matches. And unfortunately, those errors were made by the experienced senior players and not the juniors. We have assessed it and are working hard on correcting them. Playing in front of our home crowd will give us the much-needed confidence we need,” he offered.
With as many as nine raiders, three specialists each for every corner and cover departments, the current team composition of the 25-member squad has been the best he has ever got in all these years, claimed the coach.
Though the Bulls have lost both the games played so far this season, tournament is still in its early stages with the former champions still having 20 matches to play. And this number gives captain Saurabh Nandal enough reasons to be sure of his men making positive strides in the coming days.
“We are the only team to have entered the semifinals six times and we will take inspiration from such consistency,” said Nandal.
The Bulls will take on Dabang Delhi KC on December 8 followed by Haryana Steelers on December 9 at the Sree Kanteerava Indoor Stadium.