U Mumba finally seem to be getting into their groove in season 4 of the Pro Kabaddi League. They had a stop-start beginning to their campaign. Something that they’ve shrugged off in their recent matches. By beating Dabang Delhi and Bengal recently, Mumbai picked up valuable points to ensure they’re in the fray for a semi-final spot. Post their win over Delhi, Captain, Anup Kumar was lauded for his technical inputs to his players during their win over the capital side.
Kumar has managed to lift his side up post their mediocre start to post two back to back wins. Something that will bode well for them when they face the Telugu Titans next. Against Bengal, Mumbai’s defence looked extremely efficient. None of the players made impulsive tackles. Patience was the name of the game as Anup and company showed why they’re still a team to be reckoned with- despite losing several important players to rival teams this season.
Leaders are extremely important in any team. Their performance rubs off on the others who look for inspiration during trying times. We spoke to their coach, Bhaskaran Edachery on the leaders in his U Mumba side. Bhaskaran who also coaches the Indian side spoke about the players who are in charge on the mat.
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When asked about how U Mumba managed to have two leaders on the mat, he had this to say- “You can’t say that there are two leaders on the mat. Whenever Anup and Rakesh are together on the mat, Anup will lead the team. When Anup gets out, then Rakesh leads. When Anup gets tackled, he has to sit in the dugout. So he is a bit far from the action”
“Anup can’t say much to the players when he is there. There is a restriction. During such times, Rakesh controls the team. If by chance both of them aren’t on the mat, then we have Jeeva who leads. He is also a very experienced player”, he said.
Bhaskaran was keen to point out that his team has multiple leaders who are ready to take on the responsibility whenever required, “You would have seen last season, five of our players left for national duties during the tournament. During this time, Rakesh led very well in all the three matches. Not many had expected that we would win those matches, but we played very well. We beat Pune, Bangalore and Patna Pirates too. You can say we put in an outstanding performance back then”, he concluded.
