UP Yoddha Pro Kabaddi Season 7 Team Analysis

The Pro Kabaddi Auction ahead of Season 7 was a highly anticipated affair with several teams looking to put together the remaining pieces of the jigsaw puzzle but also others looking to hit the reset button as they move forward with a completely new unit filled with new personnel. The auction wasn’t short of the star quotient either, with the likes of Monu Goyat, Rahul Chaudhari, Abozar Mighani, Sandeep Narwal, Nitin Tomar, Rishank Devadiga and Siddharth Desai all up for grabs!

There are positives and negatives when it comes to re-booting a side completely in an auction that has 12 teams vying for top players. On one hand, the purse available is significantly larger (teams like Puneri Paltan, Telugu Titans & UP Yodha had this luxury) than several other sides that have retained their core and that gives the team owners the ability to bully the auction a little and raise the price of players which competing owners definitely want back in their squads. On the other hand however, with 11 other teams vying for each player, the chances of putting together a balanced side from scratch become harder than when it was in an 8-team league and each team’s strategy tables have gotten smarter too with every passing auction.

Time to jump straight into our analysis of each team ahead of this Pro Kabaddi Season 7 and give you a detailed breakdown of the side with the strengths and potential gaps, which need to be addressed before July arrives. We at Kabaddi Adda have decided to detail each squad with a SWOT Analysis (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities & Threats) to understand where they currently stand but also to give all Kabaddi fans an idea of where these teams could find room to improve as the season kicks off…and we certainly expect a few surprises too!
 

The UP Yoddha continue to make a strong impression since their arrival into the Pro Kabaddi League and have been smart at the auction table, sticking to a set game plan. A late charge led by their incredible, young defence saw them march their way into the playoffs of Pro Kabaddi Season 6 and they’ll be hoping to continue that late form but match it with consistency in Pro Kabaddi Season 7. The biggest advantage they have coming into a fresh season is the continuity from Pro Kabaddi Season 6 with the core of their squad back together with the addition of Mr. Consistent, Monu Goyat as their lead raider in place of Prashant Rai, giving them what could be the most complete raiding trio with Shrikant Jadhav (who’s only getting better with every season) and Rishank Devadiga (who has a point to prove after a disappointing campaign last time around).

The highly cohesive and successful corner combination of Sachin Kumar and Nitesh Kumar is back and so too right cover Narender who was inconsistent at times but certainly proved to be a match-winner on his day. The addition of all-rounder Mohsen Maghsoudlou could prove to be vital as a stop-gap for any holes in the defense but also to fill in for any raider who is having an off night. 

The biggest advantage they have coming into a fresh season is the continuity from PKL 6 with the core of their squad back together with the addition of Mr. Consistent, Monu Goyat

The raiding trio forms the most exciting part of this team with a great duo of right raiders in Rishank & Monu and a powerful left raider in Shrikant Jadhav, who was arguably their most impactful raider in season 6. Nitesh Kumar was simply outstanding in PKL 6 and almost single handedly led their charge into the playoffs and would hope to continue his tremendous form and understanding with his opposite corner, Sachin Kumar who got better as the season wore on. The squad’s depth will be the biggest and perhaps only concern as there seems to be a real lack of quality outside the starting seven + Mohsen and any dip in player form could hurt the squad with the absence of options available. It’s a side that has the potential to be up there with the best in the competition and they’ll be hoping for a resurgence from Rishank, who has been poor lately in National tournaments too, to bring able support to Monu Goyat and Shrikant.

There is a question mark on who could lead this side between Monu and Rishank but given the nature of both individuals, I don’t see any clash of egos between them and they could work well together for the sake of the team.
 

The squad’s depth will be the biggest and perhaps only concern as there seems to be a real lack of quality outside the starting seven + Mohsen and any dip in player form could hurt the squad with the absence of options available