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UP Yoddhas head coach Jasveer Singh disclosed the thought process behind retaining the majority of the defenders from their Pro Kabaddi season eight squad. The Uttar Pradesh-based franchise retained Nitesh Kumar, Sumit Sangwan, Ashu Singh, Gurdeep Sangwan and Shubham Kumar for the new season.
Their defensive quartet in the Playing 7 will likely remain the same. When asked about the reason behind retaining all the defenders from last season even though some of them did not impress, Jasveer Singh said on Sportskeeda's Kabaddi Hangout show:
"Our cover defender Shubham did not play so bad last season. He did an average job. Last season, our full defense committed errors initially, which is why we struggled a bit, but after that, they performed up to the mark."
He added:
"The reason why we retained our defensive core is that if we released them, we would have to spend big for the new defenders. Someone like Parvesh Bhainswal would cost us ₹70 to ₹80 lakh. Then we would have faced issues while bidding for raiders. So that was the thought process."
UP Yoddhas did not spend big on any defender at the auction but splurged ₹90 lakh to sign raider Pardeep Narwal.
"His presence will benefit the team"- UP Yoddhas defender Nitesh Kumar looking forward to playing with Abozar Mighani
Iranian defender Abozar Mighani was one of the players signed by the Yoddhas at the PKL auction this year. Mighani has a ton of experience under his belt and has played 85 matches in his PKL career. He has also represented Iran in multi-nation tournaments.
UP Yoddhas' right corner defender Nitesh Kumar appeared on Sportskeeda's Kabaddi Hangout show as well and shared his views on Mighani joining the franchise. He said:
"I will try to gain as much experience as I can from Abozar Mighani. His presence will benefit the team as well."
Both Nitesh and Abozar are right corner defenders. It will be interesting to see which defender features in the Playing 7 in the new season.
