Predicting the playing 7 for Bengaluru Bulls

Modified Oct 20, 2023 14:00 IST

Bengaluru Bulls signed Vikash Khandola and Vishal Lather at the auction (Image: Instagram)

Bengaluru Bulls have filled up all the 25 spots in their Pro Kabaddi 2023 squad. They spent ₹4.756 crore to form their team for PKL 10. The Bulls have a well-balanced side this year, with enough backup options available in both departments.

They retained the likes of Bharat Hooda and Neeraj Narwal in the raid attack and added top names like Vikash Khandola and Abhishek Singh at the Pro Kabaddi 2023 Auction. In the defense, the Bulls signed Vishal Lather, Rakshith, Rohit Kumar, Md. Liton Ali and Ankit at the auction to join the team's reliable defenders Saurabh Nandal and Aman Antil.

In this listicle now, we will look at the best possible playing seven for the Bengaluru Bulls in PKL 2023.

Center - Vikash Khandola

Vikash Khandola played his first PKL season for the Bengaluru Bulls in 2022/23. It was not the best tournament of Vikash's career, but the raider ended up scoring 139 points in 24 matches.

Khandola earned close to 200 points per season while playing for the Haryana Steelers. The Bulls spent ₹55.25 lakh to re-sign him. They will hope that the raider fires on all cylinders in PKL 10.

Left Cover - Vishal Lather

Former Dabang Delhi KC defender Vishal Lather will don the Bulls jersey in PKL 10. Lather earned a contract worth ₹20 lakh from the Bengaluru-based franchise at the auction.

He had a decent outing with Delhi last season, where he earned 58 points in 22 matches. The left-cover defender also recorded three High 5s in PKL 9.

Right Cover - Surjeet Singh

Asian Games 2023 gold medalist Surjeet Singh will don the Bulls jersey in Pro Kabaddi League 2023. Singh has enormous PKL experience under his belt, but he struggled to make an impact while playing for the Telugu Titans last season. He managed only 19 points in 13 matches.

Bengaluru Bulls coach Randhir Singh Sehrawat will likely give him a few chances to prove himself at his new home. If he fails to get going, the Bulls have another right-cover defender available in the form of Ponparthiban Subramanian.

Left In - Bharat Hooda

Bharat Hooda was the MVP of the Bulls squad last season. The tall raider earned 282 points in 23 matches for the Bengaluru-based franchise. He had a raid strike rate of more than 70%.

Coach Randhir Singh Sehrawat will expect his disciples to perform even better this season and cross the 300-point mark. He will be the lead raider of the Bulls.

Right In - Neeraj Narwal

Neeraj Narwal played the supporting raider's role to perfection for the Bulls last season. He scored 115 points in 24 matches. Apart from his raiding skills, Neeraj also impressed fans by executing three super tackles in the defense.

The Bulls retained Narwal in their squad for the PKL 2023 tournament, hinting that they plan to have him in their starting seven.

Left Corner - Aman Antil

Aman Antil made his PKL debut for the Bulls in season eight. The left-corner defender has played two seasons for the Bengaluru-based franchise so far and finished with more than 50 points in both seasons.

Antil has formed a great corner combination with Saurabh Nandal. The Bulls should stick with this pair for the corner defense in PKL 2023.

Right Corner - Saurabh Nandal

Saurabh Nandal has been the backbone of the Bengaluru Bulls' defense since the seventh season of PKL. He scored 57 points in his debut season, and the number has gone up in every season.

Last season, Nandal earned 73 points in 24 matches. The right corner defender will aim to touch the 80-point mark in PKL 10.