I build stars, not buy them at auctions – Bengaluru Bulls head coach Randhir Sehrawat

Bengaluru Bulls head coach Randhir Sehrawat stated that he looks to build stars himself and not buy them at auctions. Sehrawat is known to get the best out of the young players and feels it is imperative to give the right exposure to the players to guide them on the right track.

In fact, Randhir has been associated with Bengaluru Bulls since the inception of Pro Kabaddi in 2014 and he is the solitary coach in the league to be linked with the same franchise. The veteran coach had led the team to glory in the 2018 season as they went on to beat Gujarat Fortunegiants by five points. Furthermore, the team had finished as the runners-up in the 2015 season as they had lost to U Mumba by six points.

Sehrawat added that adding big players to the team doesn’t guarantee any success in Pro Kabaddi and it is imperative to come up with a collective effort.

Sehrawat said while talking to Sportskeeda, “Back in PKL 3 and PKL 4, Puneri Paltan boasted of a star-studded side, with almost the whole Indian team in one franchise. Ravinder Pahal, Manjeet Chhillar, Ajay Thakur, Nitin Tomar, Surjeet Narwal, almost all 7 players on the mat were stars in their own right, but that team didn’t even make the semifinal.

“Then take the case of Tamil Thalaivas in PKL 6 and Pro Kabaddi 2019. They had names like Rahul Chaudhari, Ajay, Manjeet, but why didn’t they win? See the Bengaluru Bulls team, with youngsters we have reached two semifinals and two finals. If I don’t give a platform for youngsters, what’s the point of me being a coach? Anyone can buy star players, that doesn’t even matter in this day and age”.

The Bengaluru Bulls head coach added that he does his own research and tries to build his own team according to the talent he notices. In fact, Sehrawat revealed that some of the big names in Indian Kabaddi have risen through the ranks under his tutelage.

He added, “I do my own hunting and pick players to form my team. Even those who are stars now in the PKL have grown under my training. Dharmaraj Cheralathan and Rakesh Kumar were introduced at 17, now Pro Kabaddi has big stars like Pardeep Narwal and Ajay Thakur who I have trained. Coming back to the point, if I can get 4-6 talented players who are waiting for a chance in place of one star who isn’t guaranteed to perform, why won’t I consider that? I build stars, not buy them at auctions”.

Bengaluru Bulls will begin their Pro Kabaddi campaign against U Mumba on 22nd December at 7:30 pm IST.