In his debut PKL season, Siddharth Desai breaks records, soars for U Mumba

MUMBAI: After playing three successive finals in the first three seasons of the Pro Kabaddi League including a title triumph in Season-2, U Mumba failed to shine in the following two seasons. In Season-6, however, the Mumbai team is shaping up well and look on course for a much improved performance thanks to the rise of Siddharth Desai, who in his debut season, has eclipsed all the established stars, the league has known so far.


With an average of 14 points per match, raider Desai has accumulated 98 points in seven game and is set to own the record of the fastest player ever to reach 100 points in PKL history when U Mumba play Puneri Paltan in Greater Noida on Saturday. Currently, Rahul Chaudhary of Telugu Titans holds the record, having achieved the mark in nine matches. The 26-year-old, Desai, has already set a new mark in PKL history by reaching fastest 50 points in just four games.

“I am lucky to have achieved so much on my debut,” said the man from Phulewadi town in Kolhapur. So, what does he feel are his strengths? “I think it is my ability to raid on both sides. If the defence is weak from the left cover, I can raid from there. If it’s weak from the right, I can raid from there. I think that’s exactly where I think I stand out,” Desai told TOI.

Thanks to Desai’s speed and power, U Mumba have just lost once in the seven matches they have played so far and are currently placed third. “I always wanted to play for U Mumba. I used to support them and watch them on TV. It’s a dream come true for me to be part of them,” said Desai, who enjoys playing guitar, and has a couple of videos uploaded on Youtube.

“I played kabaddi since childhood in my hometown as my father and brother, too, used to play,” said Desai, who has been part of the Air India side in the last two years after honing his skills at Pune club. “Things changed this year after I was selected to play Nationals for Maharashtra and we ended up winning the title,” informed Desai. That was indeed a turning point for Desai as at 26, he had already crossed the age limit of 22 above which players can’t be selected at auctions for the league. However, there’s no age bar on players who have played at the Nationals, so Desai got a chance to be part of the league and U Mumba bought him for Rs 36.4 lakhs.