PKL 2019 | Shrikant Jadhav hopeful of UP Yoddha’s unbeaten run in home leg

After the end of Haryana Steelers’ home games today, the PKL caravan will travel to Greater Noida for the last leg of season 7. UP Yoddha, who are currently at sixth place on the table, will play four matches at the Shaheed Vijay Singh Pathik Sports Complex. They have 58 points from 18 games at the moment and will want to have a good time on the mat at their own backyard.

In a side that has some top names like Rishank Devadiga and Monu Goyat, Shrikant Jadhav has been their best performer in raiding and he is hopeful of a good show in the home matches to wrap up the league stage on a better note.

“Now we are at the sixth place and we have almost qualified for the playoffs. I am hopeful that we will win all the home games and fight for more points and go up on the points table,” Jadhav told SportsCafe.

“Coach Sahab has allowed us all to play freely. We concentrate on the strategies made by the coaches and play according to the plans. Our only focus is playing for the team and winning the matches.”

When asked about the tactics for the four matches, he replied, “The strategies are made considering our next opponents. We take one team at a time and make our planning according to that.”

Playing as the primary raider of the Uttar Pradesh franchise, Jadhav has collected 114 raid points from 18 games in the season. Although the two stars in the team have been in and out of the side, the Maharashtra raider has taken up the responsibility and has delivered for the team as well. 

Apart from him, the raiding department is taken care of by young Surender Gill who has already scored 54 raid points from 15 matches. He has also supported Jadhav well in the raiding department which has eventually resulted in the team doing well. 

“I feel good to be the main raider of UP Yoddha and it gives me immense pleasure to play my part in winning the game for the team,” explained the raider.

“Monu Goyat suffered an injury and that is why he was out of the team and working on his recovery at the moment. Surender Gill is a very good young raider and he was impressive in the practice sessions and he got the opportunity. It is good for the team that I am doing well from the left and Gill is also getting points from the right. When I get out then Gill revives me which is a great thing for the team.”

Devadiga is the most experienced player in the side and he is mostly seen taking up the responsibility of handling the team on the mat even though he is not the captain for this season. Devadiga has not got a lot of points this year but his presence on the mat has been helpful for most of the UP players. Jadhav also spoke about the importance of Devadiga in the Greater Noida-based team. 

“Every team needs an experienced player to ensure that everything is fine on the mat while the game is on. He needs to handle the situation for the team and Rishank (Devadiga) does exactly that in our side because of his experience. So, Rishank is very crucial for our team,” asserted Jadhav.

With skipper Nitesh Kumar at the right corner position, UP have got a good and young corner combination with Sumit at the left hand side of the mat. Although Nitesh has not performed as he did in the previous edition, it was Sumit who stepped up for them in the defence and he has 61 points from 18 games which is the third highest in the league. Nitesh has also done well of late and is at the 10th place on the list of defenders with 50 points from as many games. Jadhav threw some light on their performance in the UP defence.

“In the last season, Nitesh was the top defender as no one focussed on him. Now, the focus was more on Nitesh so that helped Sumit to do well. We, senior players, are giving him hope and confidence that he can do well. Nitesh and Sumit are playing together from the club level from Haryana and their combination is really great. This is a set combination that benefitted the team,” said the 24-year-old raider.

With eyes on the PKL trophy with the UP franchise this year, Jadhav has a bigger dream of representing the country in the future. “After the league, I think there will be the World Cup and I will want to play there. There is an aim of playing for the country. But for now, we want to win the league for the UP Yoddha and I am working towards that as of now,” Jadhav concluded.