Pro Kabaddi 2024: 3 most expensive buys for U Mumba ft. Sunil Kumar
U Mumba, the PKL 2015 champions, looked extremely aggressive at the PKL 2024 Auction, creating intense bidding wars with other franchises. They have roped in some exceptional raiders and defenders to strengthen their overall line-up.
The U Mumba started off as a runner-up in their debut PKL season, losing to the Jaipur Pink Panthers in the final. Later in PKL 2015, they emerged as champions, defeating the Bengaluru Bulls. In the third season, they ended as runner-up to the Patna Pirates.
In the past two editions, the U Mumba failed to grab a spot in the playoffs and would be aiming to reverse their fortunes and that was clearly visible in the recent auction. That said, let’s take a look at the three most expensive buys from the U Mumba franchise at the Pro Kabaddi 2024 Auction.
#3 Parvesh Bhainswal - ₹19.50 Lakh
Former Telugu Titans defender Parvesh Bhainswal had a rather dull season in PKL 2023, accumulating only eight points from 15 matches. However, he is known for his exceptional defensive skills as witnessed in the earlier PKL editions.
In 137 PKL games, Parvesh has amassed 314 points with 2.26 average successful tackles per game. The promising defender would be hoping to team up with Sunil Kumar and make it big for the U Mumba to reverse the franchise’s fortunes.
#2 Manjeet - ₹80 Lakh
Manjeet is one of the star raiders in PKL history, accumulating 703 points from 108 matches in only five seasons. With Guman Singh not part of the squad for PKL 11, Manjeet will be leading the raiding department for the U Mumba.
Manjeet represented the Patna Pirates in the previous edition, amassing 120 points from 22 matches. He has 5.86 raid points per match, which tells the importance of his skills to turn any game upside down.
#1 Sunil Kumar - ₹1.015 Crore
Sunil Kumar emerged as one of the promising defenders for the Jaipur Pink Panthers in the last two seasons, accumulating 124 points. With the U Mumba struggling to find a place in the playoffs in the last two editions, Sunil Kumar’s addition would strengthen their defense.
The U Mumba signed the promising defender at a whopping price of ₹1.015 Crore. The onus will be on Sunil to put the Mumbai-based franchise ahead of the opposition in terms of defense.