The Ronnie Screwvala-owned U Mumba created waves in the first season, as was seen by the overwhelming response from millions of viewers who not only followed the team on television but also flocked to the stadiums in large numbers to support their team.
Led by captain Anup Kumar and coached by Bhaskaran Edachery, U Mumba had a dismal Pro Kabaddi season 4, finishing fifth, the lowest they have ranked in the 4 seasons of PKL. Having finished in the top 2 of the league stages in the first three seasons they are the only team to contest 3 out of the 4 finals of PKL, finishing runners-up in the first and third campaign and winning the second one.
U Mumba retained Anup Kumar for PKL 5. The addition of Kashiling Adake, Nitin Madane and Shabeer Bappu to their side makes U Mumba one of the most dangerous raiding units of PKL 5. They have also managed to build a relatively strong defence in the form of Joginder Narwal, Hadi Oshtorak, D Suresh Kumar and Kuldeep Singh.
Captain: Anup Kumar
The star raider of U Mumba is also the Captain of the Indian national team. The most prolific raider in PKL 1 (155 raid points), Anup was also named the MVP of the tournament as U Mumba finished runners-up.
What sets him apart is his cool temperament, leadership and his tactical acumen as he led U Mumba to the title in PKL 2. “Captain Cool” is the third highest raid point scorer in the PKL with 377 raid points.
Coach: Bhaskaran Edachery
Bhaskaran Edachery, the head coach of U Mumba led India to two Asian Games triumphs in 2010 and in 2014 after taking charge of national team in 2007.
Bhaskaran joined the U Mumba ranks ahead of PKL Season 2 and guided them to a record 8 consecutive wins en route their title march. His team rewrote the record books with 11 consecutive wins in PKL Season 3, where they finished as runner-up.
Squad Profile
Transfers
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Strengths: Raiding
U Mumba has a stellar raiding unit in PKL 5, with the likes of Anup, Kashiling, Shabeer and Nitin Madane. They have raiders to score points in every situation. They are seasoned campaigners, who know when to go full-throttle and when to slow the pace of the game.
Weakness: Left Cover Defence
They have two players who are capable of occupying the left cover position. Allrounder Kuldeep Singh and Hadi Oshtorak – both prefer to play right corner. It would be interesting to see how they cope up with the expectations as left cover defenders. Alternatively, they can try out Shabeer Bappu as a left cover if things don’t work out. The lack of an established left cover is the only chink in U Mumba’s armoury.
Opportunities: Defenders to Raise the Stakes
The likes of Joginder Narwal, D Suresh Kumar, Kuldeep Singh and Hadi Oshtorak are decent bets in defence. They aren’t regarded as individual match winners, but collectively they can form a good defensive unit. It’s an opportunity for these players to turn up as match winners in defence.
Threats: Injury
The team is injury prone and many players have missed a season or two because of injuries. Nitin Madane missed PKL 2 and 3 because of fitness issues.
Joginder missed the entire third season. Hadi Oshtorak has been in and out because of injuries. And even Shabeer Bappu has missed some matches every season due to injuries. Given the length of this tournament, how the team copes with injuries will be key.
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