PKL-6: Bengaluru coach projects Rohit as next India captain

Mumbai  :  Elated at lifting their second Pro Kabaddi League (PKL)A trophy, Bengaluru Bulls head coach Randhir Singh on Saturday projected his winning skipper Rohit Kumar as the next India skipper -- an opinion echoed by the hero of the summit clash Pawan Kumar.

The Bulls bounced back from a 7-point deficit to the Gujarat Fortunegiants in half time to comfortably end on the winning side at the jampacked NSCI Stadium here.

"The kind of talent and dedication both Rohit and Pawan depicted, I have no doubt they will surely be the assets of the national team for a long time."

"Rohit was a zero as captain before this season but I was proved wrong with his extraordinary leadership skills, which make me believe he can be the next India captain," Randhir told the media in the post-match presser.

Echoing the words of the coach, young Pawan, who turned out to be the game changer in the final, scoring 22 raid points, said it was Rohit's sacrifice that helped him hog the limelight after the final.

"I have played under a lot of captains in my brief career but the kind of support Anup Kumar (ex-India captain) and Rohit gives to the youngsters is incredible. I fully second Randhir sir's words," he quipped.

On being asked the mantra behind the team's success and the brave decision to bench big names, the coach said: "I didn't want to go for big names which worked in our favour. We went for a young squad, got the cheapest of teams in the auction but still had the belief to win the title."

"We selected our teams according to the demand of the situation instead of going after big names, that worked in our favour.

"From a personal point of view, this was the only elusive trophy in my cabinet and I am delighted to add that today," he concluded.

Meanwhile, Gujarat coach Manpreet Singh said his strategy of stopping both Pawan and Rohit worked in most parts of the match but unfortunately his wards failed to stick to the plan in the second half.

He concluded by saying that the game was in their hands for the first 35 minutes before Pawan's excellence took the title away from their grasps for a second time in succession.