Pro Kabaddi 2023: PKL Orange Band & Green Band explained
The Pro Kabaddi League (PKL) 2023 is running strong in its 10th season. Jaipur Pink Panthers are the defending champions, having won the league for the second time in the previous season.
They defeated Puneri Paltan in a thrilling final to be crowned champions. While the sport of Kabaddi is known to be a team game, the Pro Kabaddi League has also produced numerous individual stars over the years.
The league has given India some of the most talented raiders and defenders, who have set the mat on fire with their stellar performances. These performances are also recognized through two distinct awards in Pro Kabaddi; the orange band and the green band.
The orange band is awarded to the best defender at the end of the season. It is given to the player who has the most number of tackle points throughout the entire tournament.
Defenders play a crucial role if a team has to perform consistently well. Therefore, winning the orange band distinguishes the player as the top defender of the season.
Similarly, the green band is awarded to the best raider of the season. Raiders are most often in the limelight in the sport of Kabaddi. For a team to be successful, their raiders need to fire all through the tournament.
The green band is given to the raider who finishes with the highest number of raid points at the end of the season. Winning the green band distinguishes the player as the top raider of the season.
List of Orange and Green band winners in Pro Kabaddi
'Hi-Flyer' Pawan Sehrawat is the only player to win the green band thrice in the history of Pro Kabaddi. Fazel Atrachali and Manjeet Chillar have finished with the orange band two times each respectively. Below is the complete list of orange and green band winners in Pro Kabaddi:
Season 1: Rahul Chaudhari (146 raid points), Fazel Atrachali (52 tackle points)
Season 2: Pardeep Narwal (116 raid points), Manjeet Chillar (61 tackle points)
Season 3: Kashiling Adake (114 raid points), Ravinder Pahal (60 tackle points)
Season 4: Anup Kumar (155 raid points), Manjeet Chillar (51 tackle points)
Season 5: Pardeep Narwal (369 raid points), Surender Nada (80 tackle points)
Season 6: Pawan Sehrawat (271 raid points), Nitesh Kumar (100 tackle points)
Season 7: Pawan Sehrawat (346 raid points), Fazel Atrachali (82 tackle points)
Season 8: Pawan Sehrawat (304 raid points), Mohammadreza Shadloui (89 tackle points)
Season 9: Arjun Deshwal (296 raid points), Ankush (89 tackle points)