New Delhi, October 14
After three consecutive seasons of league-stage exits, former Pro Kabaddi League (PKL) champions U Mumba will be eager to reclaim their lost glory in Season 11, starting from October 18.
The Mumboys won the PKL title in season two but have failed to lift the coveted trophy since, as per a press release from PKL.
Season 11 will see U Mumba continue with Iranian Gholamreza Mazandarani as their head coach. An experienced coach, who has tasted success, Mazandarani led the Iranian Kabaddi team to gold at the 2018 Asian Games and previously coached U Mumba in Seasons 6 and 10.
U Mumba were busy at the season 11 player auction, looking to revamp their squad following successive underwhelming campaigns. They invested in both defence and attack, and here we take a closer look at the team's strengths and weaknesses ahead of the upcoming season.
The Mumboys' defence will undoubtedly be one of their biggest strengths in Season 11 of PKL. Sunil Kumar, eighth on the leaderboard for most tackle points (336) in PKL history, will lead their defence after U Mumba spent an impressive INR 1.015 crores on him at the Player Auction.
U Mumba's defence is packed with proven talents who have showcased their defensive prowess in the past. In addition to Sunil Kumar, the defence boasts players like Parvesh Bhainswal, Rinku, Gokulakannan M, Bittu, and Sombir, highlighting their defensive depth.
While, Parvesh Bhainswal is 11th on the all-time charts for most tackle points (310), Rinku could also be a key player in the team's defence. He has accumulated 147 tackle points in his PKL career and will be crucial to U Mumba's defensive strategies. Bittu and Sombir further strengthen the team's defensive options.
In terms of weaknesses, U Mumba's attack is likely to be scrutinised. After losing Guman Singh, their main raider for the past two seasons, at the Player Auction, U Mumba will be heavily reliant on the duo of all-rounder Amirmohammad Zafardanesh and Manjeet to handle the bulk of the raiding duties.
Season 10 saw Zafardanesh finishing as U Mumba's second-highest raid points scorer (141) in what was his debut campaign. The Season 2 champions will be hoping the Iranian can build on that performance in the upcoming season, with support from Manjeet, who is expected to be U Mumba's new lead raider.
With 633 raid points to his name, Manjeet has ample experience to take on the mantle of being the team's main raider. However, whether he can rise to the challenge is a question that remains to be answered.
Despite their seemingly weak raiding unit on paper, the duo of Manjeet and Zafardanesh should view Season 11 as the perfect opportunity to establish themselves as elite raiders in the PKL. While Manjeet has accumulated over 600 raid points, he has yet to be considered a primary raider, having primarily played a supporting role in the past.
Zafardanesh, meanwhile, will be keen to build on his promising debut campaign as he looks to become a key figure in U Mumba's attack. Additionally, Shivam is another raider who U Mumba will be hoping can perform to his maximum potential in Season 11, as they look for players to step up in attack.
One particular threat U Mumba will be wary of heading into the new season is the overall inexperience of their squad. As many as 10 U Mumba players are yet to make their debut in the PKL, and several others have only played a handful of games and are yet to firmly establish themselves as PKL-calibre talents.
If the team's main players fail to meet expectations, the head coach may need to rely on the rest of the squad to find solutions. However, whether these inexperienced players can rise to the occasion is a question that will only be answered once PKL 11 kicks off on October 18, with U Mumba set to take on Dabang Delhi KC.