In 2017, Goyat won the Pro Kabaddi League title with the Patna Pirates. He was the second-best raider for his team that season after Pardeep Narwal. Goyat’s performance in 2017 helped him become the highest-paid player in the next auctions when he was bought by Haryana Steelers for ₹15.1 million.
Monu managed 160 raid points in his debut season for the Steelers. However, after 2018, he has remained injury prone and hasn’t had great success in the league.
The Patna Pirates signed the 27-year-old before season 8 kick-pff. With his performances since then, Monu has demonstrated that he still has in him to contribute to the team’s success. But head coach Ram Mehar Singh has been using him carefully.
Goyat has not played all the 14 games for the Pirates this season and has been given rest after every couple of games. This seems to be working for the Pirates as whenever Goyat makes a comeback, he plays at his full potential.
The Delhi-born player has so far scored 66 raid points in 11 Pro Kabaddi League games to go with his vital contributions in defence. These are not mind-boggling numbers, but with Patna having the services of Sachin and Prashant Kumar Rai, he has proved to be a good utility player.
Goyat did not play against UP Yoddhas in Patna’s last encounter (35-36). Although after the game, questions were raised as to why Pardeep Narwal did not start for the Yoddhas, Patna Pirates coach also had to deal with similar questions for Monu’s absence.
When asked about Goyat’s absence from the game, Ram Mehar Singh replied:
“See every team has a strategy and he has a knee injury. Since we have more options available in our raiding department, we made a small change.”
A couple of seasons ago, no one would have thought that the figure behind Patna Pirates’ triumph in season 5 would sit out of their respective teams’ first choice seven players.
