Top 5 All-Rounders of Pro Kabaddi League
In Kabaddi having an all-rounder in your team is always beneficial for the team. He is the most active player in the match. At one moment he has to go for a raid or strategise a plan to get a raid point and the next he has to position himself to tackle an opposition raider.
He may not top raider’s or defender’s chart but his contribution to the team is always more. In Pro Kabaddi League there are some players who have been giving a stellar performance with their all-round skills.
Let’s take a look at top 5 all-rounders of PKL history:
1) Deepak Hooda, Jaipur Pink Panthers
Deepak is a raiding all-rounder. He mostly goes for raiding but he can also play the role of a defender if his team needs. Deepak scored 87 raid points and 2 tackle points from 14 matches in the inaugural season of Pro Kabaddi League.
He clinched 60 raid points and 36 tackle points from 15 matches. After playing first two seasons from Telugu Titans, Deepak was purchased by Puneri Paltan in season 3. He represented Puneri Paltan in next three seasons. 69 raid points and 7 defense points from 12 matches.
Deepak became prime raider for Puneri Paltan and therefore he could not contribute to defense in a season. He got 126 raid points and 4 tackle points from 16 matches. There was the same story in season 5 where Deepak had 172 raid points and 14 defense points to his name from 24 matches.
Deepak mostly uses running hand touch skill in raiding and ankle hold skill in defense. Deepak will be donning Jaipur Pink Panthers jersey in forthcoming season 6 of Pro Kabaddi League.
2) Manjeet Chhillar, Tamil Thalaivas
Manjeet is arguably one of the best all-rounders of PKL history. Mostly he plays as a defender but depending on the situation, he can also contribute to the raiding department.
In season 1 he scored 71 raid points and 51 tackle points from 16 matches for Bengaluru Bulls. He was awarded as the ‘Best Defender’ of the season 1. Manjeet grabbed 67 raid points and 40 tackle points from 16 matches played for Bengaluru Bulls in season 2. He got ‘Most Valuable Player’ of the season.
In season 3 as well Manjeet became ‘Best Defender’ where he took 45 raid points and 61 points from 15 matches played for Puneri Paltan. Due to an injury in season 4, Manjeet missed some matches for the Puneri team. But was successful in scoring 45 raid points and 44 tackle points from 12 matches in that season.
In season 5, Manjeet was seen out of form. He scored only 5 raid points and 47 tackle points from 15 matches for Jaipur Pink Panthers. Manjeet uses blocks and dashes while defense. Manjeet will be part of Tamil Thalaivas in season 6.
3) Sandeep Narwal, Puneri Paltan
Being the third most successful all-rounders of PKL history, Sandeep Narwal always gives his best performance whenever his team needs. He was part of Patna Pirates in first 3 seasons.
In season 1 he scored 92 raid points and 27 tackle points from 16 matches. By playing 16 matches Sandeep earned 46 raid points and 37 tackle points in the second edition of PKL. Since season 3 he has been concentrating more on defense.
He clinched 9 raid points and 55 defense points from 14 matches. He was the second best defender of that season. Sandeep was brought by Telugu Titans in season 4. He was successful in scoring 24 raid points and 42 tackle points.
In season 5 Sandeep switched to Puneri Paltan where he was successful in scoring 33 raid points and 52 tackle points. Sandeep has been very successful with his blocks and dashes in defense. Sandeep will be playing for Puneri Paltan in season 6.
4) Meraj Sheykh
Iranian Meraj Sheykh is also in the list of top all-rounders of PKL. Meraj played in season 2 of PKL where he scored 29 raid points and 9 tackle points from 15 matches.
Meraj had 27 raid points and 21 tackle points to his name in season 3. In season 4 he supported his team very well by picking 63 raid points and 12 defense points from 14 matches. Meraj played for Dabang Delhi K.C. in that season.
In season 5 Meraj’s role was more as a raider than a defender. He clinched 96 raid points and 8 defense points from 20 matches. Scorpion kick and frog jump are signature raiding moves of Meraj. In the upcoming season of PKL, once again Meraj will be part of Dabang Delhi K.C.
5) Rajesh Narwal, Dabang Delhi K.C.
Rajesh Narwal is one of the best players that Pro Kabaddi has ever produced. Rajesh played first four seasons from Jaipur Pink Panthers. He scored 72 raid points and 26 tackle points from 16 matches in season 1.
Next season he had 69 raid points and 16 tackle points to his name from 14 matches. Rajesh was successful in scoring 59 raid points and 21 defense points from 14 matches in season 3. Rajesh was consistent in season 4 and earned 66 raid points and 19 tackle points from 16 matches.
After playing 4 seasons for Jaipur, Rajesh was brought by UP Yoddha in season 5. He gave poor performance and scored only 16 raid and tackle points from 11 matches. Rajesh is successful with his toe touches and hand touches. Rajesh will be in Dabang Delhi K.C. for season 6 of PKL.