Pro Kabaddi 2022: 3 reasons why UP Yoddhas could win PKL 9
UP Yoddhas were one of the four new entrants in the Pro Kabaddi League before the tournament's fifth edition. The Uttar Pradesh-based franchise have performed with supreme consistency since joining the league. They have made it to the playoffs in all the seasons they have played so far.
However, Yoddhas have been unable to qualify for the final of the Pro Kabaddi League. Despite signing some big names like Rishank Devadiga, Nitin Tomar, Jeeva Kumar, Rajesh Narwal and Pardeep Narwal, they have struggled in the most important phase of the competition.
With the aim of ending the team's championship drought, the coaches and backroom staff have assembled a stellar squad for PKL 2022. Here is the full list of UP Yoddhas players for PKL 2022:
Squad: Nitesh Kumar, Surender Gill, Sumit Sangwan, Aman Hooda, Ashu Singh, Nitin Panwar, Shubham Kumar, Rohit Tomar, Anil Kumar, Mahipal Narwal, Durgesh Kumar, Pardeep Narwal, Nitin Tomar, James Namaba Kamweti, Abozar Mighani, Gurdeep Sangwan, Jaideep Sharma, Gulveer Singh, Rathan K, Nehal B Sawal Desai and Babu Murugasan.
Nitesh Kumar will lead the Yoddhas this season as well, and here are three reasons why he could be the man lifting the Pro Kabaddi trophy at the end of the tournament.
#1 The Pardeep Narwal factor
UP Yoddhas released Pardeep Narwal ahead of the Pro Kabaddi 2022 Auction only to sign him back using the Final Bid Match (FBM) card. Narwal is the number one raider on the all-time list of players with the most Raid Points in Pro Kabaddi League history.
Nicknamed 'The Record Breaker', Narwal has scored 1,348 raid points in his career thus far. The 26-year-old failed to finish in the Top 5 of the raiders' leaderboard last season, but if he gets going this season, UP Yoddhas will be unstoppable.
In a chat with Sportskeeda ahead of the Season 9, Narwal said that he was injured last season but is looking forward to playing to his full potential in Pro Kabaddi 2022.
#2 UP Yoddhas have 2 brilliant supporting raiders
UP Yoddhas have one of the strongest raid attacks in Pro Kabaddi 2022. They retained their number one raider from last season, Surender Gill, and re-signed Pardeep Narwal using the FBM card.
Narwal and Gill will have the backing of veteran all-rounder Nitin Tomar this season. Tomar is one of the most successful players in the league, having scored 490 raid points in 86 matches. The trio of Tomar, Gill and Narwal have the potential to guide Yoddhas to their first title.
#3 Settled defensive unit
UP Yoddhas retained their entire defensive core from last season. Nitesh Kumar, Sumit Sangwan, Ashu Singh and Shubham Kumar will likely continue in their respective positions in the defense.
Having played so many matches as a unit last season, the aforementioned quartet are expected to be potent with their combination. With the presence of Abozar Mighani, Jaideep and Gurdeep, Yoddhas have enough depth in their defense as well.
Yoddhas will kickoff their campaign on Friday (October 7) against Jaipur Pink Panthers. It will be exciting to see how they perform in PKL 2022.