Bulls look to cash in on home turf

Bangalore leg begins on Sunday

A stuttering campaign has seen Bengaluru Bulls pick up five wins from ten games in the inaugural Pro Kabaddi League (PKL) but the team is confident of reaching the semifinals.

Bulls, who are fifth in the table with 31 points, have at least a game on hand over the other sides in the eight-team league. They trail Telugu Titans by two points and Patna Pirates by eight points.

But Bulls defender Dharmaraj Cheralathan was optimistic about finishing in the top four to secure a knockout berth.

“I’m confident that we can win all our matches at Bangalore to reach the semifinals,” he said during a promotional event here on Thursday. Dharmaraj, who at 39 is the oldest player in the league, also mentioned the cascading effect the event has had on him personally.

“If I go outside, people are able to recognise me ‘as that player from Bengaluru Bulls’ and I feel happy because of that.

“I did not expect the league to catch up like this,” Dharmaraj, who has represented India thrice, pointed out.

The Tamil Nadu player Dharmaraj also spoke about how people in his village are glued to their television sets.

Sunil Hanumanthappa, the only local recruit, was also surprised about the impact of the league.

“The league has been a huge success and I did not expect this one bit.”
When he was asked his opinion about cine stars taking time off to attend the games, he broke out in a smile.

“I am happy that they have this level of enthusiasm for kabaddi. I also got the chance to meet Abhishek Bachchan (owner of the Jaipur franchise) and it was a great experience,” he signed off.

Meanwhile, owner of Bulls, Uday Sinh Wala, termed this as a development phase for the league as well as his team.

“We are looking at a bench strength of about 20 and we are not there yet,” he explained. “Teams from the north don’t have much idea about players from the South and vice-versa and it will take time.”

The Bulls kick-off their home leg with a match against Bengal Warriors on Sunday.