3 popular players who started their Pro Kabaddi careers with Pardeep Narwal but faded away
Pardeep Narwal is the most successful raider in the Pro Kabaddi League (PKL) history. He has scored over 1,500 raid points so far. The 'Record Breaker' has lifted the PKL trophy thrice and recently led the UP Yoddhas to the playoffs.
Many fans will remember that Pardeep Narwal made his PKL debut in the second edition of the league. He was with the Bengaluru Bulls that season. However, the Bulls did not use him much because they then had some big names like Ajay Thakur, Manjeet Chhillar and Rajesh Mondal, who shouldered the raiding unit.
Pardeep Narwal majorly played as a substitute for the Bengaluru Bulls. He came into the spotlight after moving to the Patna Pirates for the third season. Narwal topped the raiders' leaderboard that season with 116 raid points. He did not look back after that and is currently the number one raider.
Several other players made their Pro Kabaddi League debuts in Season 2 with Pardeep Narwal. A few of them gained fame as well because of their good performances. However, none of them could maintain consistency like Pardeep. Here is a list of three such players.
#1 Rohit Kumar Choudhary made his PKL debut in same season as Pardeep Narwal
Rohit Kumar Choudhary earned everyone's attention with his stupendous performances for Dabang Delhi KC in the second season. He finished in the top 10 of the raiders' leaderboard that season, scoring 61 raid points in 14 matches.
Fans had high hopes from Rohit in the next editions, but he could not replicate his Season 2 performance. Rohit even switched to Puneri Paltan and UP Yoddhas. However, he could not revive his career. His last appearance came in Season 6, where he earned three points in 22 raids.
#2 Sonu Narwal made his PKL debut in same season as Pardeep Narwal
Sonu Narwal has been the catalyst of a resurgent @JaipurPanthers. Will he #LePanga and deliver again tonight? http://t.co/ldBdiuHWPc
Sonu Narwal made his PKL debut for the Jaipur Pink Panthers in Season 2. He earned 51 raid points in 11 matches, including one Super 10. It looked like he would become the top raider for Jaipur in the coming seasons.
Narwal scored 55 raid points the following season and moved to Puneri Paltan for Season 4. Donning the Pune jersey, he earned 32 points in 11 matches.
Sonu Narwal did not play any Pro Kabaddi matches after the fourth season. He was picked up by the Haryana Steelers in Season 5 but was removed from the squad for being physically unfit.
#3 Meraj Sheykh made his PKL debut in same season as Pardeep Narwal
Meraj Sheykh - 'kicking' up a storm on the #vivoProKabaddi mat since 2015! 😎 https://t.co/mMIzUFxkFc
Iranian all-rounder Meraj Sheykh made his PKL debut for the Telugu Titans in Season 2. Sheykh played 15 matches that season, earning 38 points. He executed three super raids and recorded one Super 10 in that tournament.
Sheykh played one more season for the Telugu Titans before moving to Dabang Delhi KC. The Iranian star was among the top point-scorers in Seasons 4 and 5, but his performances declined after the fifth edition.
He continued to represent Delhi in the sixth and seventh editions, but could not make the same impact. In Season 7, Sheykh ended up with only 42 points in 19 matches. He has not played any Pro Kabaddi League matches after the seventh season.