Defending champion Bengal Warriors will start their title defense with UP Yoddha in their opening game of Pro Kabaddi League 2021. The Warriors won their first title last season by defeating Dabang Delhi KC 39-34 in the final. Bengal Warriors will be eyeing to become the second team to successfully defend their title.
UP Yoddha, on the other hand, had a good last season but slipped when it mattered the most. They finished third in the points table to qualify for the playoffs. However, the teamcrashed out of the competition after losing the Eliminator 45-48 to Bengaluru Bulls.
UP Yoddha has made some serious improvements in their squad this season and would like to showcase their title credentials by defeating the defending champions.
Bengal Warrior
The Warriors retained their star raider Maninder Singh and all-rounder Mohammad Nabibakhsh ahead of the auction. He made some clever additions to the raiding department in Rishank Devadiga and Sukesh Hegde.
Probable Playing 7: Maninder Singh, Rishank Devadiga, Sukesh Hegde, Mohammad Nabibakhsh, Abozar Mighani, Rinku Narwal, Parveen.
UP Yoddha
UP Yoddha clarified its aspirations by signing Pradeep Narwal for a record-breaking amount in the auction. They also have Srikant Jadhav and Surinder Gill, who have one of the most formidable attacks in Pro Kabaddi this season. They have retained the star pair of Nitesh and Sumit in the defence, while Ashu Singh and Shubham Kumar are expected to play alongside them.
Probable playing 7: Pradeep Narwal, Shrikant Jadhav, Surinder Gill, Nitesh Kumar, Sumit, Ashu Singh, Shubham Kumar.