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Despite their inability to reach the playoffs last season, U Mumba has been one of the most successful teams in the history of the Pro Kabaddi League. The Mumbai franchise started with a bang, finishing as runners-up in the inaugural edition before being crowned champions in Season 2, and lost the title narrowly to Patna Pirates the following year.
For a good five seasons, Ronnie Screwvala's team have been spearheaded by the man who has now come to be known as the best captain in the history of the League but will now have to go about their business without the services of Anup Kumar.
When it comes to a proven track record, the U Mumba raiding department seems to be rather deficient as far as the numbers are concerned but all that may well change when their Season 6 campaign gets underway.
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Here is a look at the top 5 raiders whose contributions will be vital if U Mumba wishes to relive their glory days in the competition.
#5 Vinod Kumar
The 33-year-old raider started his journey with Patna Pirates who successfully defended their title last season. Vinod, predominantly came on as a substitute for the Pirates but displayed his array of skills on the mat which includes a good mix of controlled aggression and the ability to make efficient getaways.
Vinod earned 48 points (which includes 34 raid points) from 21 matches last season and will be keen to make it to the starting 7 for U Mumba more often than he did for Patna last season.
#4 Abhishek Singh
The 19-year-old who hails from Uttar Pradesh made the headlines when he was picked up by the Mumbai side for a whopping 42.8 lakhs in the PKL auctions.
The youngster who first got noticed in the Senior Nationals is an exciting new prospect with a repertoire of tricks that include hand touches and superb reflexes.
Abhishek also showed his class at the Federation Cup which was held in Mumbai earlier this year. The youngster scored 12 points against hosts Maharashtra who finally survived a late scare to end on the winning side by a 34-33 margin.
The promising lad has spent a lot of time playing alongside Rahul Chaudhari for his state team and a lot is expected of Abhishek when the new season unfolds.
#3 Abolfazl Maghsoudlou
It will be a homecoming of sorts for the towering six-footer who started his PKL journey with the Mumbai franchise in Season 3. Back then, the raider turned out for his side just 3 times but had a relatively longer stint on the mat with the Patna Pirates when he scored 25 points from 9 matches in the next edition.
It was with Dabang Delhi that Abolfazl finally came into his own last season when he scored 91 raid points from 19 matches and the Iranian international will need to recreate the same magic more consistently to shore up U Mumba's raiding division.
#2 R Sriram
The youngster made his PKL debut and took the mat 11 times for Dabang Delhi last season. Sriram earned 36 points with a not-out percentage of 70.88% but his performances have been a lot more memorable than the statistics seem to suggest.
The lad from Kanyakumari excelled in his very first game against the Gujarat Fortunegiants scoring 5 points after he was brought on following the half-time break.
Sriram who celebrated his 20th birthday on September 17 has represented Tamil Nadu at the zonal level. An injury to Suraj Desai prompted the Delhi side to get the talented raider into the squad in Season 5 and the debutant used his running hand touches to great effect.
Currently employed with the Excise and Tax Department in Chennai, Sriram will be looking to have an even better outing for the Mumbai side in the upcoming season.
#1 Rohit Baliyan
Rohit started off with Telugu Titans in Season 2 and remained with the Hyderabad side until the next season before moving to Bengaluru Bulls. He turned out 16 times for the Titans across two seasons and earned 68 points, and subsequently took the mat 11 times for Bengaluru managing to score 56 points in total.
The 26-year-old who was part of the UP team that won gold in the Junior Nationals in Bhopal earned 74 points for Dabang Delhi last season and has now played a total of 33 matches and amassed 142 points (including 131 raid points) and three Super 10s.
Rohit is the son of a farmer, who spent his childhood balancing his kabaddi training with a basic education, and is passionate about the game. U Mumba, who are short of experience in the raiding department will be hoping that the 26-year-old raider can use all his expertise to power his team ahead and guide the many fledglings who will be part of the League for the first time ever.
