Pro Kabaddi League 2023: List of released and retained players by UP Yoddhas

UP Yoddhas have managed to retain their core group ahead of the Pro Kabaddi League 2023 auction. The team has retained seven players, including two elite players for the upcoming season.

Pardeep Narwal, the only raider to fetch 1500+ points in the Pro Kabaddi League, will return for the UP Yoddhas. Narwal has featured in 153 PKL matches and has gathered 1568 raid points in his career. Maninder Singh is in second spot with 1231 raid points.

Indian defender Nitesh Kumar will be back for the franchise in the upcoming season. He featured in 22 matches and gathered 34 points in the last edition.

Surender Gill has been retained under the young players' category. Gill was impressive in the last season, with 145 points from 14 matches. He was the 2nd best raider of the team after Pardeep Narwal.

Sumit was the best defender for UP Yoddha in the last edition. He bagged 56 points in his 21 appearances and is retained by the franchise for the PKL 10.

Another young UP Yoddhas defender who made a mark for himself in the last edition was Ashu Singh. The youngster featured in 23 matches and picked up 49 points. The management has shown faith in him once again.

Rohit Tomar was the third-best UP Yoddhas raider after Pardeep Narwal and Surender Gill. He fetched 86 points from 18 matches. However, the franchise has opted to release him.

Amongst the 14 other players released by the franchise, Nitin Tomar is likely to fetch a good amount in the auction. Notably, in 2017, UP Yoddha bought him for a whopping sum of INR 93 Lakhs. He was the highest-sold player during the PKL 5 auction.

However, Nitin Tomar played just five matches last year and had to sit out with multiple injuries. The experienced Indian raider has been released by the franchise ahead of the auction. Sandeep Narwal, Gurdeep and Rathan are other notable players released by the franchise.

---

Players retained and released by UP Yoddhas ahead of Pro Kabaddi League 2023

Retained Players

Elite Retained Players:

1. Pardeep Narwal
2. Nitesh Kumar

Retained Young Players:

1. Sumit
2. Ashu Singh
3. Surender Gill

Existing New Young Players:

1. Anil Kumar
2. Mahipal

Released Players:

1. Rathan
2. James Kamweti
3. Nitin Tomar
4. Gulveer Singh
5. Rohit Tomar
6. Durgesh Kumar
7. Aman
8. Babu
9. Shubham Kumar
10. Jaideep
11. Abozar Mighani
12. Gurdeep
13. Nehal Desai
14. Nitin Pawar
15. Sandeep Narwal

​