This ‘unprecedented’ run saw the Rohit Kumar-led side blaze through their oppositions and in the process secure the top spot from the Zone ‘B’ table with 13 wins, two ties and seven losses from the 22 games in the league stages.
Ahead of the season, the Bulls made some big-ticket purchases in the auction as they roped in the likes of Pawan Kumar Sehrawat (₹52.8 lakh) and Kashiling Adake (₹32 lakh) for big sums of money, while also re-procuring the services of young cover defender Mahender Singh for ₹40 lakh.
With the raiding unit bolstered by the addition of Kashiling Adake and Pawan Sehrawat, the Bulls’ biggest loophole of the dearth of raiding talent last season seemed to have been covered.
Two of the three big ticket-additions have combined to form the biggest driving force for the Bulls’ success story this season as Pawan Kumar Sehrawat’s purple patch (249 raid points from 23 matches) and Mahender Singh (61 tackle points from 23 matches) have struck on big occasions to take the Bulls to important wins.
Yet, the silver lining has been the influence and the words of advice from coach Randhir Singh, that has modeled the Bulls’ performance from that of a mediocre one to a mighty transformation this season.
Bulls’ skipper Rohit Kumar, in an exclusive with Sportskeeda, speaks about the coach’s efforts in their top show this season, his thoughts on the team this season and a sneak peek into his first meeting with his idol Akshay Kumar.
One of India’s favorite kabaddi sons, Rohit Kumar is a familiar figure in the kabaddi fraternity and made a big mark when he won the ‘Most Valuable Player’ award for his stunning show in the 3rd season of the Pro Kabaddi League. The Bulls skipper turns back the clock as he reminisces his foray into the sport.
Like his inspiration Rakesh Kumar, Rohit Kumar has also won a slew of awards. However, the towering raider’s journey towards choosing kabaddi as a career did indeed face a number of roadblocks, including certain junctions in his life when he considered switching the sport as well.
While most of Kumar’s fans know his ability to blaze through the opposition with some clinical hand touches and venomous kicks, Rohit has also unleashed his inner defender at certain stages during this season and looks back at some of those moments.
In the ongoing season of the Pro Kabaddi League, Kumar has not been amongst the raid points as he averages 7 raid points per game. However, for Kumar, raid points are just numbers and the real onus lies on his ability to lead the side.
A massive name in the kabaddi circles, Rohit Kumar’s fans would certainly know the fondness that their idol has for Bollywood superstar Akshay Kumar. As pointed out by the stalwart himself, Akshay Kumar’s style and persona have played a huge role in manifesting Rohit’s style both on and off the mat.
Yet, far from the glamour and charisma surrounding Bollywood, Rohit Kumar understands that the Pro Kabaddi League has had its own contribution to the growth of the sport and credits the league for a lot of his personal success as well.
Re-routing to the task at hand, Rohit stays grounded when quizzed about his captaincy techniques and wards off any mention of pressure on his shoulders to lead a side that is well mixed with youth and experience.
In the end, when quizzed about the contrasts in captaining the Bulls from the last season to this side, Rohit Kumar does not think twice before crediting the team’s composition for the outstanding run this season.
One thing is for sure that the Bengaluru Bulls are approaching a new chapter in their dusty book of a moribund history in the lucrative league, under one leader, the skipper who leads by example, Rohit Kumar.
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