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PKL 6 title winners Bengaluru Bulls are one of the more successful franchises in the PKL, but they had a forgettable PKL 10 campaign. The Bulls could only finish eighth in the group stage despite the presence of several established stars in their squad.
Lead raider Bharat Hooda, Vikash Khandola, and the rest of the raiding department had a forgettable outing. The defense was also not quite up to the mark, with Surjeet Singh's resurgent performances the only real plus for them.
Ahead of PKL 11, Bengaluru Bulls have made some big decisions, releasing Bharat, Surjeet Singh, left corner Aman, Vikash Khandola, and Ran Singh, among others, That frees up some cash and leaves them with a purse of ₹3.02 crore heading into the auction, where they're expected to be pretty active.
On that note, let's look at three players the Bengaluru Bulls should target at the PKL 2024 auction.
#3 Maninder Singh
The Bengal Warriors released Maninder Singh once again ahead of a PKL auction despite his solid showings in PKL 10. He scored 197 raid points in 21 matches and was the fourth-highest point-scoring raider.
Maninder was also released by the Warriors ahead of the PKL 10 auction before they repurchased him for ₹2.10 crore using their FBM card. While there's a possibility that they could try to do the same this season as well, the Bulls should nevertheless try their best to rope Maninder in.
After releasing Bharat Hooda, the Bulls go into the auction without a lead raider. They have had a history of powerhouse raiders like Rohit Kumar, Pawan Sehrawat, Kashiling Adake, and Bharat representing them, and Maninder would fit in perfectly among those names.
Maninder is one of the best raiders in PKL history, only behind Pardeep Narwal in terms of points scored. He has consistently delivered in six seasons running for the Bengal Warriors and would be the perfect lead raider for the Bulls.
#2 Fazel Atrachali
Fazel Atrachali was released by the Gujarat Giants ahead of the PKL 11 auction, and the Iranian left corner would be a stellar acquisition for the Bulls. Fazel is arguably the best defender in PKL history and is atop the point-scoring charts, only 14 points away from being the first player to score 500 tackle points in the competition.
He captained the Gujarat Giants in a successful PKL 10 campaign where they finished fourth in the group stage, but they unfortunately couldn't get past the Haryana Steelers in the Eliminator.
The Bulls' defense was nowhere near up to the mark last season, and after releasing Surjeet Singh, they also stand without a real leader in defense. Signing Atrachali could galvanize the Bulls' defense and also provide them with a bonafide leader at the helm, and he's a player they should seriously consider at the auction.
#1 Pawan Sehrawat
In a move that could benefit both the player and the team, Pawan Sehrawat could well have a homecoming back to the Bengaluru Bulls. Pawan got his big break with the Bulls in PKL 6, and he delivered an instant impact, scoring 282 points that year, leading them to their maiden PKL title.
He scored a whopping 962 points for the Bulls between PKL 6-8 before requesting the franchise to release him into the auction. Since then, his big-money moves to the Tamil Thalaivas and the Telugu Titans haven't worked out.
Pawan got injured in the very first match of his stint with the Thalaivas, getting ruled out for the entire season. Last season, he was purchased by the Telugu Titans for more than ₹2.60 crore. While he had a good season individually, it was a disastrous campaign for his team, who finished with only two wins in 22 matches.
Unlike in PKL 9, Bengaluru has the budget to make this move, with Pawan also unlikely to cost as much this time around with plenty of other quality raiding options available in the market. With the Bulls needing a lead raider and Pawan looking to get back to a team that can challenge for the title, a move from the Bulls to sign Pawan will solve a lot of their problems.
