PKL 10: Probable Playing 7 For UP Yoddhas Against Haryana Steelers

The UP Yoddhas, who finished fourth in the points table last year, have not been able to start this season on the right note. They faced a close defeat against U Mumba (31-34) in their opening game of the Pro Kabaddi League season 10. Although they have a chance to make things right in the initial stage, they will now be facing the Haryana Steelers on December 6, 2023, at 9:00 p.m. IST at the Arena by TransStadia, Ahmedabad.

The UP Yoddhas were not very active at the auction as they had already retained their core and mainly spent on acquiring the services of Vijay Malik, for whom the management paid a staggering amount of INR 85 lakh. Apart from Vijay Malik and Pardeep Narwal, find out below who is going to be a part of the U.P. Yoddas’ starting seven for the match against the Haryana Steelers:

1. Center: Pardeep Narwal

Pardeep Narwal had the worst possible beginning to this season of the PKL as he failed to open his account of points in the first match. The captain of the U.P. Yoddhas is a tremendous athlete and will surely be back with a bang.

2. Left Cover: Harendra Kumar

The left cover position will be covered by Harendra Kumar, who was bought in the auction for a sum of INR 13 lakh by the team management. Harendra was another player who failed to score any points in the first match.

3. Right Cover: Nitin Panwar

Nitin Panwar, who is an all-rounder, is going to play the role of a right-back defender in this U.P. Yoddhas team. He is being paid INR 13 lakh for this season and already has three defensive points to his name.

4. Left Corner: Sumit

The veteran and the Category A defender, Sumit, were retained by the U.P. Yoddhas franchise as they knew the importance of having such a formidable left corner defender in the team.

5. Right Corner: Nitesh Kumar

One of the most reputed and top defenders in the Pro Kabaddi League, Nitesh Kumar, is going to be in that right corner position for the U.P. Yoddhas. Nitesh Kumar could not make much impact in the first match, as he collected only one point out of three attempted tackles.

6. Left In: Surender Gill

Probably the tallest player in the Pro Kabaddi League, Surender Gill is going to play the role of a left raider in the U.P.-based franchise. Gill was phenomenal in the first match, as he did not let his team feel the absence of Pardeep Narwal by scoring seven points.

7. Right In: Vijay Malik

Vijay Malik, who was the U.P. Yoddhas’ most expensive buy at the auction this year, is playing in the team as the third raider and a right-in defender. Out of his ten raids, he managed to score five points in the first match.

Predicted Starting 7 of the U.P. Yoddhas against the Haryana Steelers: Pardeep Narwal (c), Harendra Kumar, Nitin Panwar, Sumit, Nitesh Kumar, Surender Gill, and Vijay Malik

This lineup for the Yoddhas has the capability of beating any kabaddi team as it consists of three quality raiders, two veteran defensive corners, and two young and promising cover defenders. The management would want the players to learn from the mistakes of the first game and get the team's first points on the board.