Pro Kabaddi 2022: 3 reasons why U Mumba could win PKL 9

The ninth edition of the Pro Kabaddi League is just around the corner and the excitement among fans has reached new heights. Season 2 champions U Mumba will be looking to bring the trophy back home after a drought of nearly seven years.

Going into PKL Auction 2022, U Mumba surprisingly released their top performers from PKL 8 in Fazel Atrachali, Abhishek Singh, and V Ajith Kumar. Their auction strategy to acquire a big-name raider in Pawan Sehrawat did not come to fruition as they were out-bid by the Tamil Thalaivas.

U Mumba ended up assembling quite a young squad and question marks were raised about how the team would handle pressure situations as well as who would lead the side. They added veteran defender Vishal Mane to their squad and acquired a few more youngsters to fill the gaps in their squad.

However, expect U Mumba to come out all guns blazing. Having a fresh pair of legs taking the mat for them might just do the trick. On that note, here is a look at three reasons why the Mumbai-based franchise could win PKL 9:

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#1 Impressive defense

The Season 2 champions possess the likes of Rinku Sharma, Surinder Singh, and Harendra Kumar along with youngsters such as Kiran Magar, Rahul Sethpal, and Prince - all of whom are known to be pretty attacking in the manner in which they go about their defending.

The Mumbai outfit has traditionally been known to have a strong defense and a young lot of defenders might just take the side's defensive capabilities to new heights. What remains to be seen is how the team makes use of the plethora of defensive options that they have.

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#2 Promising raiders

After failing to snap up Pawan Sehrawat, U Mumba splurged their resources on Guman Singh, Patna Pirates' premier raider in PKL 8. However, unlike the last edition, Guman will need to step up and play a much bigger role in the team. He will be expected to lead the raiding department.

Guman will be supported by Ashish and Shivam Thakur, who have prior PKL experience. Jai Bhagwan will be a youngster to look out for in the U Mumba side coming off the back of an excellent domestic season.

While the raiders may not have played too many PKL games, that might just be the X-factor as they will have the element of surprise.

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#3 New coach-captain combo

Anil Chaprana will be the head coach of the team in PKL 9.

After a poor outing in PKL 8, U Mumba decided to revamp their leadership group. They have appointed Anil Chaprana as head coach after his stint as offensive coach for the side under former head coach Rajguru Subramaniam.

Chaprana's strategies, in the raiding department specifically, are well-known in the domestic circuit. Being promoted to the helm, Chaprana's coaching could be the breath of fresh air that the team needs, especially since their raiding department has been a touch weak in the past few seasons.

While the Mumbai team has not announced their skipper yet, many expect Surinder Singh to be handed over the reigns.

A new, young face leading the team will perhaps bring about a complete overhaul in the manner in which U Mumba approaches their kabaddi, a move that could pay rich dividends for the side and help them secure their second PKL title.