PKL 11: U Mumba complete squad

The season two champions have made wholesale changes to their side

U Mumba have signed a number of new players to their squad, as they aim to put up a much-improved performance compared to last season.

The Men in Orange and Black had started their season very well and had secured five consecutive wins at one point. However, a sudden shift in momentum occurred and they couldn’t win a single one of their last fourteen matches. Eventually, they finished tenth on the table, with 45 points.

Experienced right corner Rinku (who was ruled out for a majority of the season due to an injury) was retained before the auctions, and so was left corner Sombir. However, the right-left cover duo of skipper Surinder Singh and Mahender Singh were released.

They have been replaced by one of the most prolific pairings in recent times, comprising cousins Sunil Kumar and Parvesh Bhainswal. At the auction, the former broke his own record as the most expensive Indian defender, with the season two champions securing his services at a price of Rs. 1.015 Cr. The former Jaipur Pink Panthers skipper is likely to lead his new team too.

On the raiding front, the Mumbai-based franchisee may have been aiming to use the Final Bid Match (FBM) Card for Guman Singh, for a second successive time. However, the Gujarat Giants made a whopping winning bid of Rs. 1.97 Cr, which ensured that U Mumba had to search for someone to replace their number-one raider from the last two seasons.

They did so, signing Manjeet at a price of Rs. 80 lakhs. Having played second fiddle to Sachin Tanwar at the Patna Pirates last year, Manjeet will have to keep up his reputation of being consistent, as he would potentially be leading the raiding unit here.

Sharing duties with him will be all-rounder Amirmohammad Zafardanesh, who was among the Elite Retained Players. The young Iranian, who debuted at the PKL last season, mesmerized everyone with his quick feet. Unfortunately, he got injured in between, which hurt his side’s prospects.

Having finished an impressive eleventh in the list for players with the most raid points last time, Zafardanesh would be aiming to reach greater heights in the upcoming edition.

U Mumba would also need a third raider to punch above his weight. They might choose to go with Shivam, who showed glimpses of promise last year or make a choice from among the purchased Category C or Category D raiders.

Having last reached the playoffs in the seventh season, U Mumba will be aiming to win their second title this time.

Here is the entire U Mumba squad for the Pro Kabaddi League Season 11

Raiders: Manjeet, Shivam, Satish Kannan, Vishal Choudhary, Stuwart Singh, M. Dhanasekar

All-Rounders: Amirmohammad Zafardanesh, Shubham Kumar

Defenders: Rinku, Sunil Kumar, Parvesh Bhainswal, Sombir, Amin Ghorbani, Gokulakannan, Mukilan Shanmugam, Bittu, Aashish Kumar

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