Pro Kabaddi League 2018: Rishank Devadiga to lead UP Yoddha in Season 6

Pro Kabaddi League franchise UP Yoddha have announced Rishank Devadiga as their captain for the upcoming sixth season of the league which starts on October 7, 2018, in Chennai, Tamil Nadu.

Rishank Devadiga has been one of the most deadly raiders in the league over the five seasons and currently occupies the seventh spot in the all-time raid points list with a total of 449 points in 80 matches.

Devadiga started his Pro Kabaddi League career with his home city franchise U Mumba and along with Anup Kumar formed a solid raiding partnership as the young man impressed in the inaugural season with a 77-point performance, leading the team to the finals. Season 3 was Devadiga's personal best for the U Mumba side as he finished with a tally of 115 points in 16 matches, which was the second highest total just behind Pardeep Narwal, who had 121 points.

Devadiga played one more season for the U Mumba franchise before he was signed by the UP Yoddha franchise for the fifth season of the Pro Kabaddi League. In their debut season in the league, they managed to reach the playoffs stages after a formidable partnership developed between Rishank Devadiga and last season's UP Yoddha captain Nitin Tomar. The two players ran riot on the mat, scoring a lot of points over the season but the team lost out in the Eliminator stage of the competition.

Devadiga created history with his state Maharashtra when he led them to the Senior National Kabaddi Championship 2017-18. He was also a part of the Indian team that won the Kabaddi Masters 2018 title in Dubai.

At this year's auction, the UP Yoddha franchise signed Devadiga for a mammoth price of 1.11 Crores, making him one of the biggest buys. And now, they have bestowed responsibility on the 26-year-old Devadiga to lead their side to glory in their second season.