Pro Kabaddi League 2017 Season 5: 5 UP Yoddhas to watch out for
There is an air of enigma in the way one of the four new franchises, UP Yoddha, have approached the fifth edition of Pro Kabaddi League. Contrary to the enthusiasm with which new franchises approach the auction, the franchise from UP turned out to be the sole team that didn’t pick any priority player in the auction and then shocked everyone with their fat spending on some big names.
In fact, they were the last franchise to announce their team name too.
Without any doubt, all other teams must be following these developments closely and would be trying to make sense of it all. For they know that under the shrewd guidance of their coach J Udaya Kumar, there is a method to every little bit of madness that appears on the surface.
If the coach’s reputation is anything to go by, this is not some dilly dallying of a petulant novice but, in fact, could very well be the first few moves of a well thought out plan by a master tactician.
While they may appear thin on star names on paper, the UP Yoddhas have enough ammunition to become a force to reckon with in their first appearance in the big league. Here are the 5 yoddhas of UP the team will rely heavily on to make a mark in their debut season.
#1 Rishank Devadiga – Raider
For Rishank Devadiga, the fifth edition of Pro Kabaddi League presents a huge opportunity as well as a major challenge. A man who had been synonymous with U Mumba’s success in the league, Rishank will find himself in unfamiliar territory in the absence of the likes of Anup Kumar and Rakesh Kumar around him.
At the same time, this season gives Devadiga a chance to make a name for himself, something that having stalwarts around him prevented him from doing till now.
After the heady beginning to his Pro Kabaddi career, the law of averages caught up with Devadiga in the last season as he looked a little off colour and failed to produce the consistency that had given him his fierce reputation in the previous three seasons.
With the team low on star power, the flashlight is going to be on Devadiga all the time and being the superstar that he is, there is every chance that we will see the Devadiga of old hold court with his terrific do or die raiding.