Pro Kabaddi League 2017 Season 5: Top 5 raiding pairs to watch out for this season

The last few years have seen a remarkable surge in the popularity of kabaddi thanks to the arrival of the Pro Kabaddi League, which has seen the sport become the second-most popular in the country. The format and the frantic pace has seen audiences getting hooked to kabaddi like no other game before.

A variety of skills are on display on the mat, most of them through the raiders, who employ a number of tricks and techniques to gain that elusive touch and return to their half safely. From running hand touches, to ‘dubkis’ and to scorpion kicks, each raider has their trademark moves that they deploy during their raids.

Raiders, with each having their different styles, operate in pairs and when on song, they can wreak havoc among opposition defenders. In season five, all teams have lined up some high-quality raiders but which are the top five raiding units among the 12 franchises? Here is our list:

#5 Puneri Paltan

Deepak Hooda was retained by the Pune team

The Pune side bought smartly in last month’s auction and have a formidable attacking unit set up. It will be led by retained player Deepak Niwas Hooda, who averages a handy six raid points per game. The 22-year-old is one of the best young prospects in the game at the moment and was part of the India team that won the Kabaddi World Cup in 2016.

Sharing raiding duties will be the crafty Rajesh Mondal, who is an expert in crunch situations. He has 156 points to his name so far, with a large chunk of them coming from do-or-die raids. All-rounder Sandeep Narwal will also look to support by putting in a few raids and has amassed 171 raid points over the last four seasons.

Related: Puneri Paltan team players for Pro Kabaddi 2017, Season 5