PKL Auction 2021: 3 teams with the best raiders
PKL Auction 2021 ended on August 31, with all 12 Pro Kabaddi teams involved assembling solid squads. While some have preferred to sign experienced stars, other franchises have decided to invest in youth.
In the game of kabaddi, raiders hold a special place. Fans have seen raiders like Pardeep Narwal and Rohit Kumar scoring more than 30 points in a match, highlighting how a single raider can be a game-changer.
Only raiders earned bids over ₹1 cr at PKL Auction 2021
The fact that the two players to receive contracts worth more than ₹1 crore at PKL Auction 2021 were raiders, highlights the raiders' impact on the game. Let's take a look at three squads with the strongest raiding units, on paper, for the 2021 edition of the Pro Kabaddi League.
#1 Bengaluru Bulls
Former PKL champions, Bengaluru Bulls retained their star raider Pawan Kumar Sehrawat ahead of PKL Auction 2021. In the previous season, the Bulls relied heavily on Pawan. But the team management has signed some quality pro kabaddi top raiders to assist Pawan this year.
Chandran Ranjit was the biggest signing made by the Bengaluru Bulls. The former Dabang Delhi KC raider received a contract worth ₹80 lakh from the Bengaluru-based franchise. Ranjit has played 64 matches in his PKL career, scoring 328 raid points, including six Super 10s.
Joining Chandran and Pawan will be GB More, who scored 60 raid points the previous season. Former Jaipur Pink Panthers star Deepak Narwal, who has 10 Super 10s to his name in the league, has also joined the Bulls. The team also has two top-class overseas raiders in Abolfazl Maghsoudlou and Dong Geon Lee.
The Bengaluru Bulls undoubtedly have one of the strongest raiding attacks this year.
#2 Patna Pirates
The Patna Pirates could not re-sign Pardeep Narwal, but the three-time champions signed four raiders who could single-handedly change the game. Patna first used the FBM card to buy their Korean raider Jang Kun Lee back. Lee has 471 raid points to his name.
The Pirates then broke the bank to secure the services of former Gujarat Giants raider Sachin Tanwar. In his brief career, Sachin has scored 433 raid points, including 16 Super 10s.
Running hand touch specialist Prashanth Kumar Rai, who aggregated 144 raid points in Season 6, is another new addition to the Patna squad. Meanwhile, Patna also signed their former raider Monu Goyat. Monu played a vital role in Patna's last championship win, scoring 191 raid points at an average of 7.34 per match.
Looking at the names the Patna Pirates have signed, it goes without saying they have one of the best raiding attacks since PKL Auction 2021.
#3 Bengal Warriors
It was a close fight between defending champions Bengal Warriors and UP Yoddha for the third spot in this list, but the Warriors pipped Yoddha because of their raiders' experience.
Before PKL Auction 2021, Bengal had already retained Maninder Singh and Mohammad Esmail Nabibakhskh, two players who had scored the majority of raid points for the team the previous season. They also bought seasoned pro Sukesh Hegde back.
Sumit Singh, who scored 60 raid points for the Bengaluru Bulls last season, is another raider who received a contract from the Bengal Warriors.
Before PKL Auction 2021 ended, the Kolkata-based franchise secured the services of former PKL champion Rishank Devadiga. Although Rishank was not at his best the previous season, one should not forget he has experience of 121 PKL matches and has proven to be a 'do-or-die' raid specialist. Hence, Devadiga could be an asset for Bengal.