Rahul Bheke

Rahul Shankar Bheke, born on 6th December 1990, is an Indian professional footballer. He plays as the defender for the Indian Super League club, Bengaluru, and the Indian national team. Bheke’s international debut was against the Curaçao in 2019 King's Cup on 5th June 2019, under the head coach, Igor Stimac. The boy from Mumbai, Maharashtra, started off as a footballer by playing for his school team before joining the under-19 squad of Mahindra United. Though Bheke found it difficult to balance his studies and sports, he did not give up.

He then joined Air India, his first professional club. Bheke played for them from 2011 to 2013. Later, Bheke joined Mumbai Tigers and played for them in several small cup competitions before leaving. In 2014, Bheke signed for Mumbai and returned to the I-League. His marked his debut for the club with his game against Mohun Bagan in the Federation Cup. He was a substitute for Pappachen Pradeep. Bheke’s first professional goal was on 7 April 2015 against Bengaluru at the Sree Kanteerava Stadium.

After two seasons with Mumbai, Bheke signed for East Bengal. The player was one of the available players during the 2015 Indian Super League domestic draft, but he was not chosen in the draft. In 2015, the defender joined the Kerala Blasters, to play for their pre-season camp. He signed with the club on loan from East Bengal. Bheke played his first match for the club during their opening fixture against North East United on 6 October 2015. He joined Pune City in 2016. Bheke was chosen in Round 4 in the 2017–18 ISL Players Draft, by Bengaluru. Bheke scored the winning goal in the 2018-19 Indian Super League Final.

It was the first Indian Super League trophy for Bengaluru. He played in all the Bengaluru’s league games in that season and had made 3 goals with 20 games, in the ISL. Rahul is one of the most effective wing-backs in the country in a way that he is deserving of praise for being able to balance his attacking skills with his defensive role. He also has the ability to make long throws and has proved his merit by securing Bengaluru FC the title with the winning header.