He’s braver than we believe, stronger than he seems and well, smarter than the opposition thinks! He is the potent do-or-die specialist, Rishank Devadiga. The young gun was picked up in the Pro Kabaddi League auctions by the new Uttar Pradesh franchise owned by the GMR group.
Having played in the league since it’s very inception for U Mumba under the aegis of Captain Cool Anup Kumar, Rishank has been all but rampant with his raids on the Kabaddi mat and will be keen to repeat the same feat this time around, in a season that will be bigger and better than any other. In the light of the recent kabaddi auctions that took place earlier this week, Sportskeeda got in touch with Rishank for an exclusive chat. Here are a few excerpts:
How would you analyse the auctions that took place ahead of the 5th season of Pro Kabaddi?
Well, in the first place, the auctions that were held ensured that each player benefitted financially from the league, most of us receiving tonnes of money. But, in the larger perspective, they indicate the economic progress of the sport. The value of a player has increased almost 8 times as compared to the first season, for then it was Rakesh Kumar who finished as the most expensive player with 12 lakhs and today, we had a final bid of 93 lakhs. Thus, it is a mark of the success of the domestic league in our nation which has brought forth the increased monetary gains.
What would you say about the huge difference in the price tags of players?
That has been an issue which needs to be solved to reduce the price gap. I think the budget for each team, that is the total purse money for every team should be increased for 4 crores does not suffice. This will enable them to bid more freely for the talented players, and also increase their squad strength, for most teams have just the minimum numbers of 18 players despite the maximum allowance being 25. An increased budget will do away with miscalculations, reduce the spending constraints and also allow more players to come into the fold. Also, given the aspect that the league will be bigger and longer from this year onwards, it will also bring forth the right value-for-money for the concerned players.
What will go into laying the foundation of the new team?
With us, the main advantage is that our coach, J. Uday Kumar has truckloads of experience under his belt, having been the gaffer for the national team at the Asian Games and then subsequently coaching the Telugu Titans team for four seasons. Also, our team looks quite balanced with a mix of youth and experience, given the likes of Nitin Tomar and Jeeva Kumar amongst others, thus it is not entirely like a newcomer side, much like the other squads.
What would be your role in the new team, and your thoughts about playing alongside Nitin Tomar?
There has been a large inflow of new and young players into the league, so in that light, a player like me will have to play big roles to ensure that we set forth the correct roadmap for them. If I compare, playing under Anup was a good experience, but I had to follow instructions over there. With this team, there will be a stark difference, for one, Nitin and I can probably lead the raiding charge and I can play my attacking game, also pave the way for experiments as and when required.
Having a couple of players from the old U Mumba side in the new team, will that act as a bonus?
Definitely, for the two players are Jeeva Kumar and Surender Singh, both of whom are bag-houses of talent and skills. Jeeva will be like a rock in the defence and with his experience, we can surely look to succeed in the league. As for Surender, he had a superb first season with Puneri Paltan before moving onto U Mumba in Season 4 wherein, unfortunately, he did not get many matches to prove his worth, so he will surely be looking to make up for the missed time on the kabaddi mat, which will work in our favour.
What are your expectations regarding the upcoming season?
This season will definitely be greater than any other staged before but in my opinion, the real game-changer will be Season 6. For this will the first season for four new teams, all of whom will be looking to test the waters initially. A larger part of this season will be spent understanding the real dynamics of how things work on and off the kabaddi mat for them, thus they will gain experience in this season akin to a trial period before staging the real challenge next time around.
A message that you would like to give to your fans?
As for Team Uttar Pradesh, it’s a new team, a new start of sorts, and I’m looking to live up to the challenge, but it comes down to nothing without the fan support! I will try and learn some new Bhojpuri dialogues in order to impress them if I have to!
As for the Mumbai people, well I’ve always been a Mumbai boy, and it was a fabulous experience with U Mumba. I’ll miss the team, and my fans but I hope they can continue to support me in my new stint with UP!
