Pro Kabaddi 2019: Top 5 defenders of the tournament before the playoffs
The league stage of the 2019 edition of Pro Kabaddi League is over as the kabaddi universe now knows that Dabang Delhi K.C., Bengal Warriors, U.P. Yoddha, U Mumba, Haryana Steelers, and Bengaluru Bulls are the top six teams of the season. One of these six franchises will now win the PKL trophy on the 19th of October at the EKA Arena in Ahmedabad.
The major reason why the other teams could not be so successful as the top six teams is that the defensive unit of these franchises played exceptionally well in the tournament. While it is important to have raiders like Pardeep Narwal and Rahul Chaudhari in the team, it does not serve any purpose if they do not have the back of the defenders.
Hence, this indicates that the defenders are of utmost importance in the sport of kabaddi for the sole reason that they help in consolidating the lead achieved by the raiders. On that note, let us have a look at the top 5 defenders of Pro Kabaddi 2019 before the playoffs -
#5 Surjeet Singh, Puneri Paltan - 63 tackle points
Matches - 21, Tackle Points - 63, Average Tackle Points/Match - 3, High 5s - 7
The only player from the Puneri Paltan side to have over 50 tackle points in Pro Kabaddi League 2019 is skipper Surjeet Singh, who ensured that he leads his team's defensive unit by example. The right cover defender missed one match this season but in his 21 appearances for the Pune-based franchise, he took a total of 63 tackle points at an average of 3 tackle points per match.
He scored 5 or more tackle points on seven occasions while the former Bengal Warriors captain also executed seven Super Tackles this season. Unfortunately, Surjeet Singh will not feature in the playoffs as Puneri Paltan have been eliminated from the tournament.