PKL 7: Five raiders to watch out for during the season

Siddharth Desai features in the Pro Kabaddi top five raiders

Bengaluru, July 17: The seventh edition of the VIVO Pro Kabaddi league (PKL 7) arrives this weekend when Telugu Titans host U Mumba in the campaign opener in Hyderabad.

The upcoming season, which starts on Saturday (July 20) and concludes on October 19, promises to be more exciting and tense than ever before with a new format and revamped teams.

With the start of the season less than three days away, we take a look at some of the top raiders to keep an eye on over the course of the campaign.

Pawan ‘Hi-Flyer’ Sehrawat – Bengaluru Bulls

Pawan Sehrawat will look to replicate his MVP winning performances from last year as Bengaluru Bulls eye a successful defence of their VIVO Pro Kabaddi crown. Sehrawat, who began his Pro Kabaddi career with the Bengaluru franchise spearheaded their title triumph with 271 raid points - the most in Season 6.

Siddharth ‘Baahubali’ Desai – Telugu Titans

Siddharth Desai, who made his VIVO Pro Kabaddi debut in style with U Mumba last season was the team's most lethal raider and finished the campaign with 218 raid points. The powerful raider broke several records along the way and won the Best Debutant award. This season he is all set to lead the Telugu Titans raiding unit.

Pardeep ‘Record-Breaker’ Narwal – Patna Pirates

Pardeep Narwal, who is current all-time leading scorer for points won via raids, will be itching to reclaim the VIVO Pro Kabaddi trophy with Patna Pirates. The three-time champion with Pirates scored 233 raid points for the three-time champions last season and will be looking to better that in the upcoming campaign.

Maninder Singh – Bengal Warriors

Maninder Singh, who won the VIVO Pro Kabaddi trophy with Jaipur Pink Panthers in the inaugural edition, missed the next three seasons, but has shown his mettle and emerged as one of the top raiders in the league since his return in Season 5. He has been Bengal Warriors' leading raider over the past two campaigns and finished the fifth season with 190 raid points before topping that tally with 206 raid points last season. He also became the fastest raider to score 400 and 500 raid points last season.

Ajay ‘Iceman’ Thakur – Tamil Thalaivas

The veteran Ajay Thakut never seems to fade. Like fine wine, the Tamil Thalaivas captain seems to only be getting better with time. An experienced raider and inspiring leader, Thakur has almost singlehandedly won his team games in the past. Thakur, who was hero of India's 2016 Kabaddi World Cup triumph, scored 213 raid points in the fifth season and 203 raid points in the subsequent year. The new season will see him link up with former teammate and "Raid Machine" Rahul Chaudhari, making them a lethal raiding duo.

Source: Pro Kabaddi