Pro Kabaddi League 2017 Season 5: 5 reasons why UP Yoddhas can win the title 

The fifth edition of kabaddi's domestic league will commence towards the end of this month on the 28th of July. The stark difference between this instalment of the Pro Kabaddi League and all its previous editions is the addition of the four new teams in the likes of UP Yoddhas, Haryana Steelers, Gujarat Fortune Giants and Tamil Thalaivas; in addition to the eight original franchises.

Thus, the season will be played for a longer duration this time around, precisely three months and will witness almost 140 matches being played across 12 venues in 10 states of the country. The final encounter is scheduled to be staged on the 28th of October, in the city of Chennai, the home of the Tamil Thalaivas.

At the player auctions which were held in May, each of the eight old teams was allowed to retain one player while the new owners were given the opportunity to make a Priority Pick, however UP surprised everyone when they did not choose any player in this regard but subsequently followed it up by making some huge buys at the auctions.

The team is owned by the GMR Group under GMR League Games Private Limited and the owners had firmly asserted that he will have an attack based approach with his team, and this statement relayed at the auctions, with UP picking up the best raiders and all-rounders in the business to complete their squad while defence played second fiddle all along.

The team also recorded the most expensive buy at the auctions, splashing a whopping Rs 93 lakhs to procure the services of young raider Nitin Tomar who had just come off World Cup glory and has a reputation of fetching quick raid points.

Apart from this, they made some key decisions, and Sportskeeda thus looks at the 5 reasons why UP can lay their hands on the trophy in their debut season itself.

#1: Rampant Raiders

Nitin Tomar made the headlines with a big price tag, and will thus look to go all-out on the kabaddi mat in order to prove his worth to the owners. Given his 110 raid points of just 22 matches in the tournament, Nitin will surely look to increase the tally with his ability to make swift raids in the rival half.

As for the other raider, Rishank Devadiga, the Best Defender from Season 3 will spearhead the attack alongside Nitin. He has amassed 300 points in his PKL career with almost 60 matches under his belt and will hence play a key role if the team is to succeed.

The do-or-die specialist is keen to prove his mettle which was evident when he said in an earlier interview that, "If I compare, playing under Anup was a good experience, but I had to follow instructions at U Mumba. With this team, there will be a stark difference, for one, Nitin and I can probably lead the raiding charge and I can play my attacking game, also pave the way for experiments as and when required."

#2: Coach Uday Kumar

Coach Uday Kumar speaking to the referee during one of the PKL matches

He brings with him truckloads of experience, having completed stints with the Indian national team, guiding them to Asian Games glory on two occasions in 2002 and 2006, while also being the man behind-the-scenes for the Telugu Titans for four seasons.

A shrewd tactician, there is no inch of doubt that Uday Kumar would have analysed the pros and cons of each of his players and would thus be able to able the best possible performance out of them on the given match day.

#3: All-rounder Rajesh Narwal

Rajesh Narwal played for the Jaipur Pink Panthers in the last season

He was an instrumental cog in the machine when it came to the success story of the Jaipur Pink Panthers last season, whether it was concerned with manning the defence or bailing the team out of trouble with successful raids.

With the UP Yoddhas, Rajesh will be entrusted with a similar task, with a slightly more defence oriented role to lend balance to the side.

His stats of 266 raid points and 84 defence points are mark of his talent and skills, something that he will be looking to showcase in his stint with the new franchise.

#4: Jeeva Kumar leading the defensive charge

Jeeva Kumar plied his trade for U Mumba in the previous seasons.

Experts may look at the UP team and term the absence of lead defenders except for Jeeva Kumar as a weakness, but there's an entire strategy that has gone behind the selection.

Jeeva is a veteran of the game and will be a wall in the defence of the team but has also been given the responsibility of forming an impregnable side with the young defenders that have been picked up at the auctions in the likes of Santosh BS, Hadi Tajik and Nitesh Kumar.

Coach Uday Kumar was quoted as saying to Firstpost in an interview, "We had already scouted good young corner defenders before the auction. So we didn't go for the big names and invested heavily in raiders and the experienced cover defender Jeeva Kumar."

#5: Training camp prior to the season

The entire squad post a training session. Image credits: UP Yoddhas Facebook page

The UP team had set up a training camp in Aligarh for a good period of 21 days where each player focussed on achieving paramount fitness prior to the start of the long season. There were also special sessions scheduled for strength building each day.

As such, the team's coach and support staff have ensured that the entire squad is devoid of any major injury concerns and are raring to go in the fifth edition.