Pro Kabaddi League 2018: 5 reasons why Bengaluru Bulls might not win PKL Season 6

The sixth season of the Pro Kabaddi League is less than a week away and one team that will hope for a reversal in fortunes will be the Bengaluru Bulls. Apart from their runners-up finish from season two, the Bulls have almost had nothing to show for their efforts with two fourth-place finishes, from season one and most recently in season five, their best showing.

However, they can take heart from the fact that they managed to make a comeback from down in the dumps to put in a strong challenge for the playoffs spot last season and this season, with some good additions in the form of Kashiling Adake, Jasmer Gulia amongst others, the Bulls look a strong unit.

However, there are still quite a few issues the Bulls will have to address when the season commences in order to stake a claim for a title win. Here are five reasons why the Bengaluru Bulls might not go on to win the title for the sixth consecutive time.

#5 Lack of confidence

The Bulls will need to have self-belief in order

to go

all the way

For a team that has found the going tough and failed to convert their performances into ones that can take them into the playoffs, the Bulls might just be looking at another season where they do not qualify for the finals.

What makes it even tougher for the Bulls is the fact that they have missed the bus from the last three seasons which could hurt their chances to make it all the way to the finals and win it, given the fact that they haven't found themselves in pressure cooker conditions in the last three seasons.

#4 Slightly inexperienced team

Ravinder Pahal (R) will be missed in the defense unit

The Bulls made some smart buys in the auction to rope in Kashiling Adake and Pawan Kumar Sehrawat on the defensive front, Jasmer Singh Gulia is sure to play a huge role in a partnership with Mahender Singh.

However, apart from some of these names, the rest of the team puts across a set of fresh faces, which could go against the Bulls in the tense situations.

While a fastpaced game such as Kabaddi does require fresh legs on the mat, Bengaluru's squad composition certainly does lack some quality in terms of experience.

#3 Lack of quality on the defensive front

Ashish Kumar (L) will hope to enjoy a good season with the Bulls

The Bulls, from the auctions, managed to do well to bring back the services of their top raider from last season Mahender Singh as well as Ashish Kumar Sangwan and veteran all-rounder Jasmer Singh Gulia.

However, the corner positions, which will most likely be filled by Raju Lal Choudhary and Amit Sheoran/Jawahar Vivek certainly looks shaky. Raju Lal, in fact, had a stint with the Indian team but hardly featured in any games.

Even in the PKL, Raju's poor record could go on to hurt the Bulls while the likes of Amit Sheoran/Jawahar Vivek/ Nitesh BR do not have too much experience to bring into the team.

#2 A shortfall of core strength

Mahender Singh's services were procured back from the auctions

Ahead of the auctions, the Bengaluru Bulls opted to retain only star skipper Rohit Kumar apart from the group of 'New Young Players'. While it was expected that the Bulls were looking to make a fresh start, the fact that they could bring back only four players from last season could affect their campaign.

As important as it is to build a team, it is also of utmost importance that the players understand each other, and this might derail the Bulls when the action commences.

#1 Same coach, a similar strategy

Can coach Randhir Singh come up with an algorithm for success?

Coach Randhir Singh has been at the helm of the Bengaluru Bulls since the inception of the league and while his strategy on the mat has come off superbly on most occasions, a few of his decisions have gone against the Bulls' progression in the campaign.

While there is no taking away the fact that Randhir Singh is one of the best minds in the country, it will be interesting to keep an eye on his approach.