Pro Kabaddi 2024: 5 raiding duos to watch out for ft. Pardeep Narwal & Ajinkya Pawar
Pro Kabaddi 2024 will begin on Friday evening (October 18) in Hyderabad. Former champions Bengaluru Bulls will lock horns with home team Telugu Titans in the season's opening fixture.
Ten other teams - Gujarat Giants, UP Yoddhas, Haryana Steelers, Tamil Thalaivas, U Mumba, Bengal Warriorz, Puneri Paltan, Jaipur Pink Panthers, Dabang Delhi KC, and Patna Pirates - will participate in the competition.
The Pro Kabaddi 2024 Auction happened earlier this year, where the team owners signed the players they wanted in their teams. Some coaches have assembled dream raiding lineups for the upcoming season, and here's a list of five raid duos to watch out for in PKL 11.
#1 Pardeep Narwal and Ajinkya Pawar - Bengaluru Bulls
Pardeep Narwal has returned to his first PKL franchise Bengaluru Bulls for the 11th season. The last time Pardeep turned up for the Bulls was in season two when he was younger. However, he is the most successful raider in PKL now.
Joining Pardeep in the Bulls' raid unit is Ajinkya Pawar, who had a stellar season with the Tamil Thalaivas in PKL 10. Under the guidance of coach Randhir Singh Sehrawat, the duo of Pardeep and Ajinkya can wreak havoc in PKL 11.
#2 Naveen Kumar and Ashu Malik - Dabang Delhi KC
The co-captains of Dabang Delhi KC, Naveen Kumar, and Ashu Malik will be keen to destroy the opposition defenses in PKL 11. Naveen and Ashu have been together at Delhi for quite some time. But Ashu got a chance to shine last season when Naveen got injured. Ashu ended up as the best raider of the tournament.
Now that Naveen is fit again and Ashu is better than ever, the duo can lead Dabang Delhi KC to their second PKL championship in the upcoming season. Delhi will kick off their tournament against U Mumba on Friday.
#3 Maninder Singh and Nitin Kumar - Bengal Warriorz
Former champions Bengal Warriorz will rely on Maninder Singh and Nitin Kumar in the raid department. Both raiders were a part of the Kolkata-based franchise last season as well.
Shedding some light on their numbers, Maninder earned 198 points in 21 matches, while Nitin scored 169 in 20 games. If the duo fires all cylinders in PKL 2024, Bengal will emerge as one of the most aggressive sides of the competition.
#4 Surender Gill and Bharat Hooda - UP Yoddhas
After Pardeep Narwal's departure, Surender Gill got a new raid partner at UP Yoddhas in the form of Bharat Hooda. Bharat was a member of the Bengaluru Bulls squad in the last few Pro Kabaddi seasons.
Both Surender and Bharat are tall raiders, who know how to take advantage of their height and score points. If they maintain their fitness well in PKL 11, this pair can take the Yoddhas to their first Pro Kabaddi trophy.
#5 Aslam Inamdar and Mohit Goyat - Puneri Paltan
Aslam Inamdar and Mohit Goyat played a huge role in Puneri Paltan's maiden Pro Kabaddi championship triumph last season. The two rising stars have established themselves as Pro Kabaddi's most reliable raiding duo.
With more than 150 points each in PKL 10, Aslam and Mohit helped Pune take the trophy home. Coach BC Ramesh will hope his two main raiders continue in the same vein in the 11th season.