The Kabaddi fraternity is eagerly waiting for the 12th season of the Pro Kabaddi League (PKL) to start. The highly-anticipated season is set to get underway on August 29. Tamil Thalaivas will be locking horns against Telugu Titans in the tournament-opener.
Like the previous seasons, 12 teams will be battling it out in PKL 2025 too. The 12 teams that will be participating in the tournament are – . Haryana Steelers are the reigning champions and will be eager to become only the second team after Patna Pirates to defend the title.
With the tournament all set to start, we are taking a look at the top five raiders in the history of the league.
Top 5 raiders in PKL history:
5. Naveen Kumar
At number five in this list is Naveen Kumar. The star raider made his PKL debut in 2018 while representing Dabang Delhi K.C. and made an instant impact by scoring 177 points. He stayed with Delhi till last season before being released.
In the upcoming PKL season, Naveen will represent defending champions Haryana Steelers. Overall, Naveen has 1,102 points from 107 matches. He enjoyed his best season in 2019 when he scored a staggering 303 points.
4. Arjun Deshwal
Tamil Thalaivas vice-captain Arjun Deshwal has the fourth highest raid points in the PKL history. Deshwal made his debut in the competition in 2018 while playing for U Mumba. In his debut season, he managed only 4 raid points.
However, he went from strength to strength after that season. In his second season, he scored 106 points before scoring 268 points in his third season while representing Jaipur Pink Panthers. He enjoyed his career-best season so far in 2022 when he scored 296 points. Overall, Deshwal has 1,174 points from 114 matches.
3. Pawan Sehrawat
At number three in this elite list is Pawan Sehrawat. He began his PKL journey in 2016 with Bengaluru before representing Gujarat Giants, Tamil Thalaivas and Telugu Titans as well. He enjoyed his best PKL season in 2019 while plying his trade for Bengaluru Bulls.
Sehrawat scored a staggering 360 points that season to establish himself as one of the elite raiders in the tournament. Last year, he played for Telugu Titans and scored 134 points from 13 games. Overall, he has scored 1,318 points in 139 matches.
2. Maninder Singh
Maninder Singh is not only one of the most decorated raiders in the history of PKL but also one of the most experienced ones. He is playing in the competition since its inaugural season in 2014. He made his debut in the tournament with Jaipur Pink Panthers and announced his arrival by scoring 137 points in his first season.
He then missed the next three seasons before returning to action with Bengal Warriorz in the fifth season. Maninder played for the Warriorz for seven seasons till last year and will now represent Patna Pirates. He is second on the all-time charts with 1,528 raid points from 158 matches.
1. Pardeep Narwal
Pardeep Narwal holds the record for scoring most raid points in PKL. The legendary raider, who announced his retirement earlier this year, began his journey with Bengaluru Bulls in the second season before gaining stardom with Patna Pirates. He led the Patna-based outfit to three consecutive titles.
Later, he plied his trade for UP Yoddhas as well before representing Bengaluru Bulls in his last season as a player. Overall, he scored 1,801 points in 190 matches. He enjoyed his best season in 2017 when he amassed 369 points.