Bharat Hooda forms his all-time PKL 7; includes Pawan Sehrawat, leaves out Anup Kumar, Rahul Chaudhari (Exclusive)

UP Yoddhas raider Bharat Hooda has selected his all-time Pro Kabaddi League playing seven. Hooda included all seven active PKL players in his team, leaving no space for retired superstars like Anup Kumar and Rahul Chaudhari.

In an exclusive interview with Sportskeeda on the sidelines of PKL 2024 Noida leg, Bharat Hooda shared his all-time Pro Kabaddi team. He selected the elite duo of Parvesh Bhainswal and Sunil Kumar as the cover defenders. Both defenders are currently playing for U Mumba in Pro Kabaddi League 2024.

Next, Bharat named two all-rounders Mohammadreza Shadloui and Aslam Inamdar in his team. Both Shadloui and Inamdar were a part of the Puneri Paltan squad that won the championship in Season 10.

To complete the team, Bharat added Pune's right corner defender Gaurav Khatri along with raiders Pawan Kumar Sehrawat and Narender Hoshiyar Kandola. The UP Yoddhas raider mentioned that he would keep himself on the bench as a substite player.

Bharat Hooda's all-time PKL 7: Sunil Kumar (right cover), Parvesh Bhainswal (left cover), Mohammadreza Shadloui (left corner), Gaurav Khatri (right corner), Aslam Inamdar (left in), Narender Hoshiyar Kandola (centre), Pawan Kumar Sehrawat (right in) and Bharat Hooda (on bench).

"I was not thinking much at that time" - Bharat Hooda shares his experience of watching Pro Kabaddi 2024 Auction

Bharat Hooda started his PKL career at Bengaluru Bulls and emerged as a successful raider for the team. However, the Bulls released Hooda before the Pro Kabaddi League 2024 auction. UP Yoddhas secured his services for a whopping ₹1.3 crore price. When asked about his experience of watching the auction, Bharat said:

"I was not thinking much at that time. But now that UP Yoddhas have shown so much faith in me, I want to justify the faith shown in me. Everyone will be happy if the team wins."

UP Yoddhas are currently eighth in the PKL 2024 points table, having registered seven wins from 14 matches. The Uttar Pradesh-based franchise have won three of their last four games, and if they continue in the same vein, they can qualify for the playoffs.

"We have lost a couple of matches by one or two points. We will try to perform better in the upcoming matches, and there isn't much difference between the teams in the points table this year. So, if we improve and work on our mistakes, we can surely do better," Bharat Hooda said while reflecting on his team's performance in PKL 11.

Lastly, Hooda signed off by sharing his experience of playing in front of UP Yoddhas' home fans at the Noida Indoor Stadium. Generally, the Yoddhas play their home games in Noida, and this season, the organizers shortlisted the Noida Indoor Stadium as one of the three venues for PKL's league games.

"It was a good feeling to play in front of home ground. The home crowd supported us well in Noida," Hooda said.

The Noida leg of PKL 2024 ends tonight. The action will shift to Pune on Tuesday (December 3), where UP Yoddhas will battle Telugu Titans in the first match.