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Bengaluru Bulls failed to make the Pro Kabaddi League (PKL) 2023 playoffs. They finished in the eighth position on the points table, managing to win eight games, losing 12 games, and playing out two tied encounters. The Bulls could accumulate just 53 points from their 22 league-stage matches.
Bengaluru Bulls won their maiden Pro Kabaddi title in Season 6 and have qualified for the playoffs every season ever since. This is the first time since their title-winning season that they failed to make it to the top six.
They managed to finish on a positive note, beating the Haryana Steelers by a huge margin (53-39) in their final league-stage game. Looking back at where things went wrong for Randhir Sehrawat's team, here are the three reasons why they did not qualify for the playoffs in Pro Kabaddi 2023.
#3 A poor start to the Pro Kabaddi 2023 season
Bengaluru Bulls did not have an ideal start to the Pro Kabaddi 2023 season this time around. They failed to build early momentum, losing their first four matches on the trot. The Bulls lost their opening game to the Gujarat Giants and went to face defeat against the Bengal Warriors, Dabang Delhi, and Haryana Steelers. Hence, the Bulls ended up playing catch-up throughout the tournament.
Moreover, they remained inconsistent as well. They managed to win just two of their last five matches, facing three defeats. The Bulls could not get on to a winning streak, which hurt their qualification chances eventually.
#2 Key raiders not performing
The failure of their key raiders also affected the Bengaluru Bulls heavily this season. Bharat Hooda and Vikash Kandola, in particular, who were their main raiders, struggled for form and consistency. Due to their poor showing, they did not play all of the 22 matches as well.
Vikash played 19 matches and could gather only 68 raid points at a disappointing average of 3.58 raid points per game and a poor successful raid percentage of just 27. Meanwhile, Bharat played 18 matches and managed just 103 raid points, averaging 5.72 with a successful raid strike-rate of just 37%.
#3 Failure to set the right combination
Facing four straight defeats first up dented the Bengaluru Bulls early on in the tournament itself. While their key players failed to perform consistently, they were given repeated opportunities. The likes of Akshit Dhull and Sushil, who displayed great promise, became a part of the starting seven at a latter stage.
The Bulls failed to utilize their players to the fullest, with the likes of Abhishek Singh not being given chances despite consistent failures from Bharat and Vikash.
