Pro Kabaddi League 2018: UP Yoddha - Time Table & Venue Details

Pro Kabaddi League action returns to the fold in just three weeks' time as the twelve franchises are set to face each other over a course of thirteen weeks for a shot at the coveted title of the Pro Kabaddi League champions. The Season 6 will begin on October 7 with the first leg in Chennai and continue for a duration of three months before coming to an end with the final on January 5 in Mumbai.

One of the four franchises that made their debut last season was the U.P. Yoddha franchise who played their home games in the city of Lucknow in Uttar Pradesh. They did well for their first season in the Pro Kabaddi League as they qualified for the playoffs stage from the Zone B. They were defeated by the Puneri Paltan in the Eliminator stage of the competition.

U.P. Yoddha built a well-balanced squad around two leading raiders in the league - Nitin Tomar and Rishank Devadiga. They had smashed the record in the PKL auction last season when they bought Nitin Tomar for a mammoth price of 93 Lakhs. Tomar led the side with his all-round displays on the mat and formed a formidable partnership with the impressive Rishank Devadiga and the duo wreaked havoc on the other defenders in the league.

Surprisingly, the franchise owners opted not to retain any of their star performers from the season going into the auction. They lost out on Nitin Tomar in the auction as he was picked up by the Puneri Paltan for this season. However, they managed to hold on to Rishank Devadiga for a huge sum of 111 Lakhs establishing him as the man to build the team around for the upcoming season.

The Yoddhas further bolstered their raiding unit when they picked up Prashanth Kumar Rai (79 Lakhs) and Shrikant Jadhav (37 Lakhs), both of whom were impressive last season for Haryana Steelers and U Mumba, respectively. The trio will form a commendable raiding unit with a good mix of height and agility that can trouble even the best defenders on any given night on the mat.

The defence will be manned by the experienced Jeeva Kumar along with Nitesh Kumar, who was retained by the franchise along with youngsters such as Sachin Kumar and Nitin Mavi who will have a chance to make their mark in the league. In the all-rounders' department, Sagar Krishna was signed back using the FBM card and the signing of Seong Ryeol Kim rounded off their auction buys.

Here is the complete Pro Kabaddi League Season 6 schedule for the U.P. Yoddha.

Complete schedule for the UP Yoddha

Match #1

Date - 8 October

Opponent - Tamil Thalaivas

Venue - Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium, Chennai

Time (IST) - 21:00

Match #2

Date - 12 October

Opponent - Patna Pirates

Venue - Motilal Nehru School of Sports, Sonipat

Time (IST) - 21:00

Match #3

Date - 14 October

Opponent - Telugu Titans

Venue - Motilal Nehru School of Sports, Sonipat

Time (IST) - 20:00

Match #4

Date - 20 October

Opponent - Bengal Warriors

Venue - Balewadi Stadium, Pune

Time (IST) - 20:00

Match #5

Date - 24 October

Opponent - Puneri Paltan

Venue - Balewadi Stadium, Pune

Time (IST) - 21:00

Match #6

Top 5 all-time rivalries in Pro Kabaddi LeagueDate - 28 October

Opponent - Dabang Delhi KC

Venue - Patliputra Sports Complex, Patna

Time (IST) - 20:00

Match #7

Date - 2 November

Opponent - Tamil Thalaivas