After an uncharacteristic campaign last time around, UP Yoddhas aim to return to the playoffs stage in PKL 11
Following a league stage exit in the last Pro Kabaddi League campaign, UP Yoddhas will be eager to set the record straight in Season 11 of PKL. The Yoddhas have competed in six PKL campaigns so far, qualifying for the playoffs on five occasions with the last season being the only exception.
PKL 11 will witness Jasveer Singh, who has been with the UP Yoddhas coaching setup since Season 6, as their head coach again. The Yoddhas were busy at the Season 11 Player Auction table and made quality additions to their squad, including that of Bharat for INR 1.30 crores. With that said, let’s look closer at the overall strengths and weaknesses of the Yoddhas ahead of PKL 11.
Strengths
UP Yoddhas’ top-class raiding unit is expected to get the better of plenty of opposition defences in Season 11. Surender Gill and Bharat will spearhead the attack as they bid to add to their 487 and 497 raid points, respectively. Gagana Gowda, who managed 92 raid points in his debut campaign with the Yoddhas in PKL 10, is another raider who strengthens their attack.
Meanwhile, Bhavani Rajput, who has scored more than 150 raid points, alongside Iranian Heidarali Ekrami, Shivam Chaudhary as well as youngsters Keshav Kumar and Aksham Suryawanshi are a few more promising raiders. They give the Yoddhas extra attacking options, while also boosting the depth of the raiding unit.
Weaknesses
How the Yoddhas’ defence performs in Season 11 will go a long way towards determining the team’s fortunes. While they have plenty of seasoned PKL defenders in the team, producing consistent defensive displays will be crucial for UP Yoddhas. The ever-reliable Sumit, who has notched up 254 tackle points in PKL, will be the Yoddhas’ main man in defence.
However, the supporting cast of Mahender Singh, Ashu Singh, Gangaram and Sahul Kumar will need to be more consistent and reliable. Even though the trio of Mahender Singh, Ashu Singh and Sahul Kumar boasts lots of PKL experience, they haven’t always been at their best in recent seasons and will need to raise their game in Season 11.
Ashu Singh managed just 20 tackle points last season, while Mahender Singh and Sahul Kumar scored 31 and 39 tackle points in PKL 10, respectively. It was their lowest defensive return for a single PKL campaign, which is something they will need to rectify in the upcoming season.
Opportunities
As far as opportunities are concerned, Season 11 will finally serve as the perfect chance for Surender Gill to establish himself as the lead raider of the team. Despite being on top of his game in the last few seasons, Surender played second fiddle in attack to Pardeep Narwal. However, with Pardeep no longer a part of the Yoddhas in Season 11, Surender will finally have the opportunity to take on the mantle as the team’s main raider and lead the attack from the front.
He’s scored almost 500 raid points in his Pro Kabaddi career and will aim to enjoy his best individual season yet in PKL 11. Furthermore, Season 11 will also offer a chance at redemption for defenders Mahender Singh, Ashu Singh and Sahul Kumar, following underwhelming showings in the last campaign.
Threats
One of the biggest threats that UP Yoddhas will be worried about in Season 11 will be the fitness concerns of star player Surender Gill. The talented raider can be unstoppable when on song but injury issues have disrupted his performances over the last two seasons.
Even though Surender Gill lit the mat ablaze whenever in action in PKL Seasons 9 and 10, he was only fit to feature in 24 games over the last two campaigns. He managed 140 raid points in 14 games in Season 9 and 87 raid points in 10 matches in the following campaign. While his numbers indicate that he shone whenever in action, his fitness for the entirety of Season 11 will go a long way in determining how the Yoddhas’ upcoming campaign pans out.
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