UP Yoddhas have been the unluckiest team that hasn’t won any PKL Championship despite playing all the seasons of the Pro Kabaddi League. The Yoddhas will take part in the upcoming season 11 of PKL. This blog discusses the UP Yoddhas team player 2025, important players for the team in the PKL 11 season, the Yoddhas overall stats, and performances in the previous edition of the Pro Kabaddi League.
U.P. Yoddhas Team Overview:
UP Yoddhas is an unfortunate team in the PKL that has yet to win any PKl championship. This team was inducted into the Pro Kabaddi League in 2017 and GMR Group is the owner of this team. UP Yoddhas team competes at Babu Banarasi Das Indoor Stadium in Lucknow and has made it to the playoffs most of the seasons since its debut.
Pardeep Narwal was given the captain role in mid-season 9 of the Pro Kabaddi League and he led the team to the playoffs, but unfortunately, the team could not go on into the finals. However, the team’s players, squad, and coaching panel are confident enough to bring the trophy home in the 11th season of the Pro Kabaddi League.
UP Yoddhas Team Player 2025 & Current Squad:
Now let us discuss the squad and player list of the UP Yoddha for the upcoming season in the Pro Kabaddi League.
Raiders:
- Surender Gill
- Gagana Gowda
- Shivam Chaudhary
- Keshav Kumar
- Heidarali Ekrami
- Bhavani Rajput
- Akshay R. Suryawanshi
Defenders:
- Sumit
- Ashu Singh
- Gangaram
- Jayesh Mahajan
- Hitesh
- Sachin
- Sahul Kumar
- Mohammadreza Kaboudrahangi
- Mahender Singh
All-Rounders:
- Bharat
- Vivek
UP Yoddhas have undergone significant changes to their UP Yoddhas team player 2025 for Pro Kabaddi League Season 11. Young players like Gagan Gowda, Hitesh, and Shivam Chaudhary impressed during their chances and were retained as New Young Players. During the auction, UP Yoddhas made some big moves as they bought Bharat Hooda for INR 1.3 crore. The 23-year-old raider will be one of the primary attacking options.
On the second day of the auction, the team made another significant purchase by purchasing Bhavani Rajput for INR 45 lakhs. All three raiders are known for their height and skill, particularly their ability to execute running hand touches, which could prove challenging for their opponents.
Defensively, UP Yoddhas have always been strong, and this season will be no different. Sumit, the reliable left-corner defender, will be paired with Sahul Kumar in the right corner. Sahul, who was brought in from the Pink Panthers, is an experienced defender and a solid replacement for Nitesh Kumar.
Another strategic move by the Yoddhas was the purchase of UP Yoddhas team player 2025, Mahender Singh, nicknamed "The Bulldozer," for INR 21.40 lakhs. Mahender, alongside Ashu, will be a key part of the defense, aiming to stop opposition raiders and contribute to the team’s success.
UP Yoddhas Head Coach:
For another season, the experienced coach, Jasveer Singh, will oversee the successful UP Yoddhas. Jasveer, who has been associated with the team for six years, has given good results. The Yoddhas fell apart last season, ending 11th instead. The team will look to improve their team under Jasveer’s leadership and are keen to take part in the race of the title from their previous performance.
U.P. Yoddhas Overall Stats in PKL History:
Here are the overall stats of the Yoddhas in the PKL history that describe their performance over the seasons in the Pro Kabaddi League.
| Total Matches Played | 140 |
| Team Total Raid Points | 2771 |
| Successful Raids | 2155 |
| Team Super Raids | 91 |
| Team Super Tackles | 135 |
| Team Average raid points per match | 19.79 |
| Team Tackle Points | 1417 |
| Successful Tackles | 1281 |
| Team Average tackle points per match | 10.12 |
| Team total Points scored | 4806 |
| Team Total Points conceded | 4876 |
| Team DOD Raid Points | 457 |
| Team all-out inflicted | 176 |
| Team all-out conceded | 183 |
Season-Wise Performance of U.P. Yoddhas:
The U.P. Yoddhas had a mixed bag of success throughout their seasons in the Pro Kabaddi League.
| Season 10 | 11th |
| Season 9 | 4th |
| Season 8 | 3rd |
| Season 7 | 3rd |
| Season 6 | 3rd (In Zone B) |
| Season 5 | 3rd (In Zone B) |
U.P. Yoddhas Team: Season 5
Moving on to UP Yoddhas - they had a decent debut season in Season 5 by finishing third in Zone B and making it to playoffs before losing to Puneri Paltan.
U.P. Yoddhas Team: Season 6
In Season 6, they improved upon their previous season's performance by winning eliminators and semifinals but lost in the Preliminary Final against Gujarat Giants.
U.P. Yoddhas Team: Season 7
The trend continued as they finished third yet again in Season 7 and won 13 out of 22 games but lost the eliminator against Bengaluru Bulls. Sumit and Nitish Kumar stood out during this season as two of the top three defenders in the tournament.
U.P. Yoddhas Team: Season 8
In Season 8, they repeated their third-place finish by winning the eliminator against Puneri Paltan but lost the semifinal against Patna Pirates with a scoreline of 38-27.
U.P. Yoddhas Team: Season 9
Meanwhile, The Yoddhas had a cautious start to their season with three wins out of six matches in the first leg of Vivo Pro Kabaddi Season 9. After winning only four out of nine matches played under Nitesh Kumar's captaincy, they replaced him with Pardeep Narwal mid-season. This proved to be a wise move as they went undefeated for their remaining matches at Pune Leg.
In Hyderabad's final leg, the Pardeep-led team won five out of eight matches to finish fourth in the league stage. Unfortunately for them, it all came down to an intense Eliminator 2 where they lost in a tie-breaker resulting in elimination from the tournament.
U.P. Yoddhas Team: Season 10
The Yoddhas' performance kept on declining and last year, they finished in 11th position in the PKL points table. The UP team could only win 4 games and lost 17 out of the total 22 matches. The fans hope that the team and UP Yoddhas team player 2025 might perform well in the upcoming season and break the jinx of not winning any PKL Championship.
