Pro Kabaddi League 2017 | U Mumba : Preview, Player List, Fixtures, Live Streaming

Rohit George

ByRohit George, SportsCafe Editor

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While a fifth place finish may not be a bad thing for most teams, it signalled a below par season for U Mumba last year since it was the first time in PKL history that they did not manage to reach at least the last four. Now heading into season five, U Mumba are looking to claim their second crown.

Mumbai is known as the City of Dreams and therefore it’s only fitting that their performances in the four seasons of the PKL so far have been nothing short of a dream. Over the last four years of the PKL, U Mumba have managed to reach two semi finals, including one title finish.  

Last year performance : 

Having lost in the final in Seasons 1 and 3 while lifting the title in the second season, the team from Mumbai failed to qualify for the semis for the very first time in season 4. Out of their 14 league matches last year, Mumba uncharacteristically lost 6 games which condemned them to a 5th place finish. Last season, U Mumba suffered their first loss in their home leg during the league stage when Bengal Warriors trumped them 31-27 at the NSCI Stadium. 

U Mumba at the 2017 Auction :

Following their dismal display last season, the Mumbai outfit went all out to bolster their offensive options and they did so by signing Kashiling Adake and bringing back Shabeer Bapu from the Jaipur Pink Panthers. Finally, they added some steel to their defence by signing Iranian defender Hadi Oshtorak.

Season V Squad-

Raider- Anup Kumar, Darshan Kadian, Kashiling Adake, Mohan Raman G, Nitin Madane, Shabeer Bapu, and Shrikant Jhadav

Defender- Suresh Kumar, Deepak Yadav, Joginder Narwal, N Renjith, and Surender Singh

All-rounders- Dong Ju Hong, E Subash, Kuldeep Singh, and Hadi Oshtorak.

Key Players

Anup Kumar: The U Mumba skipper has been an indispensable part of their setup ever since the inception of the PKL. In 57 matches for U Mumba so far, Anup Kumar has managed to accumulate an astounding 411 points in total, which includes 377 raid points. Furthermore, the other 34 defence points that Kumar has amassed is a proof of the fact that the 33-year-old is sound is a sound defender as well. 

Kashiling Adake

The former Delhi raider was brought back to Mumbai for a reason and though he had a quiet season with Delhi last year, he has shown glimpses of his potential in the past, particularly in the encounter against the Telugu Titans in the second season. Kashiling scored a colossal 24 points during that home encounter en route to creating the record for the most points scored by a player in a single match. That record was subsequently equalled by Patna Pirates’ Pardeep Narwal in season 3. This year, Adake will look to form a potent partnership with skipper Anup Kumar as Mumbai look to unleash their raiders on their opponents.

Shabeer Bapu :

The inclusion of Bapu is aimed at reviving his glorious partnership with Anup Kumar when the duo helped Mumba to the finals of the tournament. But owing to two rather unimpressive seasons, there have been some doubts over his effectiveness going into the fifth season. However, if Bapu does manage to recreate his form from season 1, Mumbai, in all likelihood, can fancy their chances to lift the second PKL title.

Strengths :

With the likes of Anup Kumar, Kashiling Adake, and Kashiling Adake in their ranks Mumbai inarguably have the best offence in the league. Further, Mumbai’s offence has been a major part of the reason why they have consistently made it to the finals stages of the PKL and once again heading into the upcoming season Mumba’s offence will be the one to watch out for. 

Weakness-

Given that season 5 of the PKL will see four new teams entering the fray, a lot of changes in personnel has taken place within each of the team. More importantly, this also means that the new members of each of the teams do not have any experience of playing with each other and this is certain to be a weakness for all the team, including Mumbai.

To conclude, it could easily be said that if previous records and consistency was anything to go by U Mumba would certainly be favourites to win their second PKL title. But given that the tournament is set to take place over the span of three months, Mumbai will have to find a way to keep winning throughout the season. 

Fixtures-

Date        Fixture          Stadium

July 28 MUM vs PUN Hyderabad

July 30 MUM vs HAR Hyderabad

Aug 5 MUM vs DEL Bengaluru

Aug 11 GUJ vs MUM Ahmedabad

Aug 18 UP vs MUM Lucknow

Aug 19 HYD vs MUM Lucknow

Aug 25 MUM vs JAI Mumbai

Aug 26 MUM vs PUN Mumbai

Aug 27 MUM vs DEL Mumbai

Aug 29 MUM vs GUJ Mumbai

Aug 30 MUM vs HAR Mumbai

Aug 31 MUM vs JAI Mumbai

Sep 6 KOL vs MUM Kolkata

Sep 9 PAT vs MUM Haryana

Sep 15 MUM vs GUJ Ranchi

Sep 22 DEL vs MUM Delhi

Sep 28 BLR vs MUM Delhi

Oct 1 CHE vs MUM Chennai

Oct 4 MUM vs HAR Chennai

Oct 7 JAI vs MUM Jaipur

Oct 14 PUN vs MUM Pune

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