Pro Kabaddi 2024: Top 5 raiders to watch out for ft. Pawan Sehrawat & Sachin Tanwar
Pro Kabaddi 2024 will begin on Friday, October 18. Puneri Paltan won the previous edition, which ended earlier this year in February. The Pune-based franchise won their first championship by defeating the Haryana Steelers in the final.
One of the main reasons why Puneri Paltan became the champions was because their raiders fired all cylinders. Their raiders played well as a unit and received fine support from the defense, which led to the team's success.
Raiders play a major role in any team's PKL success, and here are five raiders to keep tabs on during the PKL 2024 season.
#1 Pawan Sehrawat - Telugu Titans
It goes without saying that almost every PKL fan is excited to watch Pawan Sehrawat on the mat once again.
After a forgettable season with Telugu Titans last season, Pawan will be keen to make a fresh start in PKL 2024 and guide the Titans to success.
The Titans continued to show faith in him by re-signing him at the auction. While Pawan scored 217 points last season, Titans fans will hope that he touches the 300 points mark in PKL 11.
#2 Sachin Tanwar - Tamil Thalaivas
Sachin Tanwar was the most expensive buy of the Pro Kabaddi 2024 Auction. Tamil Thalaivas spent ₹2.15 crore to acquire Sachin's services, and it was not surprising to see the Thalaivas splurge a big sum for him because of his consistency.
Over the last many seasons, Sachin has been a consistent performer in the raiding department for his teams. It will be interesting to see if he can perform in the same vein under the pressure of the ₹2.15 crore price tag.
#3 Pardeep Narwal - Bengaluru Bulls
Bengaluru Bulls coach Randhir Singh Sehrawat bought the league's number one raider Pardeep Narwal at the PKL 2024 Auction.
Pardeep started his Pro Kabaddi journey with the Bulls in season two, and almost a decade later, he is back in the Bengaluru-based franchise.
In his stint with UP Yoddhas, Pardeep was not at his best and was even substituted when his performance was not up to the mark. All eyes will be on Pardeep when he dons the Bulls jersey against the Telugu Titans on Friday.
#4 Guman Singh - Gujarat Giants
It was surprising to see the Gujarat Giants spend ₹1.97 crore to acquire Guman Singh at the Pro Kabaddi 2024 Auction. Guman has been a match-winner, but at the same time, he has been an injury-prone player.
However, Gujarat's coach Ram Mehar Singh has high hopes for Guman. With a massive ₹1.97 crore price tag to justify, Guman will be under pressure when he plays for the Ahmedabad-based franchise in PKL 11.
#5 Maninder Singh - Bengal Warriorz
Maninder Singh will create a record in the Pro Kabaddi League by becoming the first player to play seven PKL seasons for the same team. Bengal Warriorz kept him in their squad for Season 11, making it the seventh consecutive season for Mighty Mani in the Bengal team.
Bengal have backed Maninder so much because he has consistently scored raid points for the team. He has established himself as a multi-point raid specialist, and this time, he will play without the burden of captaincy, which will help him perform to his full potential.