Siddharth Sirish Desai is a professional Indian kabaddi player who was born on 5 December 1991 in Hundalewadi in Chandgad taluk of Kolhapur district, Maharashtra. He was born into an underprivileged family in a small village that has a population of not more than 300. Siddharth started playing kabaddi from his childhood. People in his village also found pleasure in playing kabaddi which gave him exposure from the beginning. He used to play kabaddi in the local fields during his leisure time with friends. During his childhood days, Siddharth was trained by Appa Dalvi who was a well-known coach in his village. Appa was always amazed by Siddharth’s performance and guided him to rectify his shortfalls. Siddharth’s friends and family used to call him Sid. Sid’s father and brother are also great kabaddi players. Being raised in a kabaddi heritage, Sid always had a deep desire to pursue a career in it.
Sid was very considerate towards his family and wanted a job to support them. He completed his schooling till the 10th standard from Jayprakash Vidyalay, Kini, and then went on to complete his 12th from Shriman VP Desai Jr College, Kowad. He later went to college to complete a B.Sc. in Physics and started working at Air India as a contractor. From there, his life changed in unexpected ways. While working in Air India met the kabaddi coach Ashok Sinde. He trained Sid to play for Air India at the domestic level. Ashok was deeply impressed by the performance of Sid and saw a potential kabaddi prodigy in him whose talents should be known to the world. Ashok Sinde with his wide influence pulled some strings for Sid and got him to an auction. From there Sid kick-started his journey of building up a career in his obsession.
Siddharth Sirish Desai Biography
| Full name | Siddharth Sirish Desai |
| Nick Name | Bahubali |
| Date of Birth/DOB/ age | 5 December 1991 (32 Years) |
| Birth Place | Hundalewadi, Kolhapur |
| Zodiac sign/Sun sign | Sagittarius |
| Profession | Kabaddi Player |
| Country | India |
| Role | |
| Father name | Sirish Desai (Kabaddi Player, Farmer) |
| Mother name | Name not known (Housewife) |
| Siblings | Brother– Suraj Desai (elder) (Kabaddi Player) |
| Married | Unmarried |
| Spouse or Girlfriend | Sayali Keripale (Kabaddi Player) (rumoured) |
| Children | |
| Education Qualification | B.Sc. in Physics |
| Religion | Hinduism |
| Current Residence | Hundalewadi, Kolhapur |
| Nationality | Indian |
| Debut | U Mumba (Season 6, 2018) |
| Teams | HARYANA STEELERS U MUMBA SOUTH CENTRAL RAILWAY NORTHERN RAILWAY, DELHI MAHARASHTRA TELUGU TITANS |
| Current Team | HARYANA STEELERS |
| Position | LEFT RAIDER |
| Category | RAIDER |
Siddharth Sirish Desai Physical Statistics
| Height | in centimeters– 175 cm in meters– 1.75 m in feet & inches– 5’ 9” |
| Weight | in kilograms– 72 kg in pounds– 158 lbs. |
| Body Measurements (approx.) | – Chest: 42 Inches – Waist: 32 Inches – Biceps: 14 Inches |
| Eye Color | Black |
| Hair Color | Black |
Siddharth Sirish Desai Profile
In season 6 of Pro Kabaddi, Sid was bid by U Mumba for Rs 36.4 lakhs. The franchise was looking for a potential raider at that time and he was the exact piece of the puzzle. The youngster performed beyond everyone’s expectations and made an impact in his very first game with a Super 10 against Puneri Paltan. He bagged 218 raid points and a total of 221 points from 21 matches played in season 6, making him the fastest player in the entire Pro Kabaddi League history to reach 50 raid points in just 4 matches. His performance coupled with the defensive efforts of Fazel Atrachali in season 6 took U Mumba to the eliminator against UP Yoddha where they lost 34-29.
He became a sensation in his debut season and was the 3rd highest point scorer of the league after Pardeep Narwal and Pawan Kumar Sehrawat. He was also presented with the Best Debutant of the Year award in 2018. However, U Mumba released their star raider after Season 6 due to his shoulder injury.
In season 7, he was bid by Telugu Titans for a massive sum of Rs. 1.45 crores making him the most expensive player of the season. He was ranked as the 2nd most expensive player in the history of the Pro Kabaddi League after Monu Goyat who was bid for Rs. 1.51 crores in PKL Season 6.
Outside the mat, Sid finds pleasure in playing guitar and he also loves to dance. Sid is a promising and top-class raider that the kabaddi world has seen who waited patiently without losing hope to follow his passion for the game. If he develops his game well for Season 7, it might not be so late before we see him wearing the Indian jersey and taking India to another Gold medal.
Siddharth Sirish Desai Stats
Raiding Career
| Matches Played | 60 |
| Total Raids | 894 |
| Raid Points | 582 |
| Avg. Time on Mat (%) | 65 |
| Avg. Out Rate (%) | 29.33 |
| Avg. Strike Rate (%) | 67.53 |
| Effective Points | 396 |
Tackling Career
| Matches Played | 60 |
| Main Tackles | 26 |
| Tackle Points | 9 |
| Avg. Time on Mat (%) | 60.18 |
| Avg. Out Rate (%) | 76.32 |
| Avg. Strike Rate (%) | 91.67 |
| Avg. Success Assists (%) | 6 |
Siddharth Sirish Desai PKL Auction Price History
| Tournament | Team | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Pro Kabaddi Season 9 | Telugu Titans | 20.00 L |
| Pro Kabaddi Season 8 | Telugu Titans | 130.00 L |
| Pro Kabaddi Season 7 | Telugu Titans | 145.00 L |
| Pro Kabaddi Season 6 | U Mumba | 36.40 L |
Siddharth Sirish Desai’s Social Media Accounts
| Siddharth Desai (@siddharthdesai09) | |
| Wikipedia | Siddharth Sirish Desai |
Some Lesser-Known Facts About Siddharth Sirish Desai
- Siddharth Desai is an Indian Kabaddi player who is recognized for his tenure as the highest-paid athlete in the 7th Pro Kabaddi League (PKL) season.
- Coming from a humble village backdrop, Siddharth’s introduction to Kabaddi can be credited to Mr Appa Dalvi, a well-known coach from his hometown.
- Siddharth was good in his studies which led him to acquire a degree in Physics. His elder brother, Suraj, was a big support who pushed him to continue his studies and give them priority over the games. This is one of the reasons, Siddharth started playing professionally a bit later than other boys in his village.
- After his academic pursuits, he joined Air India. Here, under the guidance of Mr. Ashok Sinde, he trained and perfected his Kabaddi skills, often sharing the field with prominent players like Ajay Thakur and Deepak Hooda.
- Siddharth also joined the Indian army for a brief period. Due to his unwavering passion for Kabaddi, he went back to the sport, joining the esteemed Satej Kabaddi Club in Pune to train for professional matches.
- 2018 marked a pivotal year for Siddharth Desai. He represented Maharashtra in the senior nationals and his team secured a gold medal. This event was particularly significant, considering Maharashtra had not won any gold for more than a decade. This event also gave Siddharth a chance to be qualified for the Pro Kabaddi League.
- Siddharth was acquired by the U Mumba franchise for an impressive INR 36.4 Lakh. His exemplary performance, which consisted of 218 raid points and 3 tackle points, caught a lot of attention in the industry.
- Consequently, the Telegu Titans extended an offer of INR 1.45 Cr in the subsequent 7th season making him the highest-paid Kabaddi player during the season. Under the guidance of Coach L Srinivas Reddy, he continued to play for the next two seasons as well – seasons 8 and 9.
- During his tenure with the Telegu Titans, he wore jersey number 8.
- Suraj Desai, Siddharth’s sibling, also shares a commendable reputation in Kabaddi. Notably, he played for the Jaipur Pink Panthers during the league’s inaugural season. Due to an injury, he was not able to represent Delhi in the 5th season. However, he made a return with the Telegu Titans for the 7th season, contributing to 12 matches.
- Besides his passion for Kabaddi, Desai is also passionate about music and often dedicates a substantial amount of time to guitar practice daily. He also has a YouTube channel where he shares covers of various Bollywood songs. In an interview, he said that engaging with music for one hour every day helps him concentrate well on his games and is a great stress buster.
- Siddharth loves animals and often advocates for pet protection. He even posts about it on his social media where he encourages people to feed the stray. Siddharth also owns a pet dog named Buster.
- Siddharth has a huge fan following on his social media accounts and so, he often advertises for various brands including Vision 11, Olymp Trade, and XLR8 Sports Nutrition.
- The kabaddi champion credits his agility and strength to his discipline. He works out almost every single day without a miss. He also likes to swim whenever he has time.
