Randhir Sehrawat has been one of the few coaches/managers who have been with a single franchise since the inauguration of the Pro Kabaddi League. The Bengaluru Bulls coach is one of the most reputed figures in the industry and has even coached the national side during the World Cup.
In recent years, Pawan Sehrawat has emerged as one of the top talents in the Pro Kabaddi League under the tutelage of Randhir Sehrawat. He has played a very crucial role in the rise of established stars such as Manjeet Chillar and Ajay Thakur, grooming them since the beginning of their careers.
In an exclusive interview with Sportskeeda, the Bulls manager talked about his star raider, the dynamics of the team, and the exit of the ex-captain. When asked about why he decided against retaining the former skipper, he was very open with his words and had this to say about the player.
“I didn’t retain Rohit ahead of the Pro Kabaddi auction and in his place, I have picked 5-6 good quality raiders who have proven themselves over the time. See, what everyone fails to understand is that this isn’t the nationals, It is Pro Kabaddi.
The league thrives on business. Last year he scored only 88 points for the ₹1 crore I spend on him, that’s more than 1 lakh per point!”
He then went on to add that the player had missed the Nationals and failed to represent Services in the tournament, so he couldn’t gamble a massive amount on a player who hadn’t been in action for the majority of the time. He was very frank about his decision about not retaining Rohit and was happy with his decision as it allowed him to sign Deepak Narwal, GB More, and Abolfazl Maghsodlou to bolster the Bulls.
“Pawan was under a lot of pressure last season”: Sehrawat predicts bright future for his star raider
Pawan has been one of the biggest finds of the Pro Kabaddi League, and Randhir is proud of how far the raider has come. He debuted under his current head coach and has come a long way, now captaining the Bengaluru Bulls franchise.
The manager talked about the star raider in the same interview and promised fans. The star raider will feature in a new role this time around.
“To be very honest, Pawan was under a lot of pressure last time because he had to score the bulk of the points. This time, I have thought of a new role for him, which you will see on the mat.
Last season, Rohit was made the captain and he didn’t perform much, so all the pressure was on Pawan!”
Pawan featured in a losing effort against U Mumba in the PKL8 opener, where he was tackled seven times in the game and was kept at the sidelines for one-third of the game, which led to an eventual defeat. Fans will hope that Pawan can bounce back as the Bulls face Tamil Thalaivas in their upcoming fixture.
