Kabaddi, especially the Pro Kabaddi League (PKL), is known for its intense raiding. Raiders are the architects of points in this fast-paced sport. Every PKL season brings new heroes, and the question about the best raider in the history of the tournament always sparks heated discussions.

Therefore, it is now time to explore the list of incredibly talented raiders who dominated this stage. Who is the best raider in PKL history? Let's find out.

1. Pardeep Narwal (Left Raider)

• Raid Points: 1801
• Matches: 190
• Teams played for in PKL: Patna Pirates, UP Yoddhas, Bengaluru Bulls

Pardeep Narwal tops the chart with 1801 raid points, which earns him the title of best raider in PKL history. He is one of the greatest in the history of Kabbadi and holds multiple raiding records.

Known as the "Dubki King," his signature "dubki" move, where he ducks under defenders, has earned him countless points. His ability to change the course of a game has led the Patna Pirates to 3 straight titles in the Pro Kabaddi League.

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2. Maninder Singh (Raider)

• Raid Points: 1528
• Matches: 158
• Teams played for in PKL: Jaipur Pink Panthers, Bengal Warriors

The captain and lead raider of Bengal Warriors, Maninder Singh holds the second position with 1528 points. He is one of the most reliable and consistent sources of the team. He is particularly effective with hand touches and running hand touches.

Maninder led Bengal Warriors to their maiden PKL trophy in 2019, which speaks volumes about his skill and stature.

3. Pawan Kumar Sehrawat (Raider)

• Raid Points: 1318
• Matches: 139
• Teams played for in PKL: Bengaluru Bulls, Gujarat Giants, Telugu Titans, Tamil Thalaivas

The "Hi-Flyer," Pawan Kumar Sehrawat, has scored 1318 points, which is the third-highest in the list. He had an amazing journey in this tournament and achieved most raid points in 3 consecutive seasons (2018, 2019, 2021).

Pawan's aggressive approach and ability to inflict all-out attacks quickly have made him one of the most feared raiders. He also became the most expensive player in PKL history when he got picked up by Tamil Thalaivas for ₹2.26 crores in the 9th season.

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4. Arjun Deshwal (Raider)

• Raid Points: 1174
• Matches: 114
• Teams played for in PKL: Jaipur Pink Panthers

Arjun Deshwal has rapidly risen at the top and clinched the title of "Raid Machine," with 1174 points and brilliant techniques. He was a key part of the Jaipur Pink Panthers in their 2022 victory.

Deshwal's ability to earn crucial points, especially in do-or-die raids, has made him this successful. He was also part of the Indian team that won the gold medal at the 2022 Asian Games in Hangzhou, China.

5. Naveen Kumar (Raider)

• Raid Points: 1102
• Matches: 107
• Teams played for in PKL: Dabang Delhi K.C

Naveen Kumar is one of the youngest and fastest raiders in the league. With 1102 raid points, he has consistently achieved Super 10s and holds the record for most consecutive Super 10s in the tournament's history.

His quick movement, combined with hand and toe touches, makes him a nightmare for the opposition.

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6. Rahul Chaudhari (Raider)

• Raid Points: 1045
• Matches: 154
• Teams played for in PKL: Telugu Titans, Tamil Thalaivas, Jaipur Pink Panthers

The former Kabaddi star, Rahul Chaudhari, had a phenomenal PKL journey, having scored 1045 points in 154 matches. After starting off as a defender, his transformation into one of the most successful raiders was fascinating.

Rahul was the first player to reach 500, 700, and 800 points, and still stands strong in the top 10 after his retirement.

7. Sachin Tanwar (Raider)

• Raid Points: 1034
• Matches: 145
• Teams played for in PKL: Gujarat Giants, Patna Pirates, Tamil Thalaivas

Sachin Tanwar is a versatile raider known for his call presence and under-pressure performance. Since his 2017 debut, he has scored 1034 total points, which is quite impressive and comes in handy for the teams he represents.

He has the ability to change and adapt his style to different match situations, which makes him a key raiding option.

8. Deepak Niwas Hooda (All-Rounder)

• Raid Points: 1020
• Matches: 157
• Teams played for in PKL: Telugu Titans, Puneri Paltan, Jaipur Pink Panthers

Deepak Niwas Hooda is the 8th player to have 1000+ raid points in PKL history. While listed as an all-rounder, his 1020 points in 157 matches show how capable he is in raiding. 

Hooda is known for his experience, leadership, and has a variety of medal records in Kabaddi tournaments (2016 Kabaddi World Cup, 2018 Asian Games, South Asian Games, etc).

The schedule of the 12th season of Pro Kabaddi League has been announced. The PKL 2025 is scheduled to begin on 29 August and the final will be played on 23 October. All the matches of PKL-12 will be played in a total of 4 cities, which include Visakhapatnam, Jaipur, Chennai and Delhi.

These four cities will host a total of 108 league stage matches. The tournament opener will be played between Telugu Titans vs Tamil Thalaivas at the Rajiv Gandhi Indoor Stadium in Vizag. Vizag had earlier hosted matches in seasons 1, 3 and 6. Now after seven years, the city is going to welcome Kabaddi again.

Also Read: Who is the Best Raider in PKL history?

Haryana to start their campaign against Bengal Warriorz

Defending champions Haryana Steelers will start their title defence against the Bengal Warriorz on August 31.

The Haryana Steelers won PKL season 11, claiming their first-ever Pro Kabaddi League title by defeating the Patna Pirates 32-23 in the final held on December 29, 2024.

The tournament to span across four major cities

Throughout the league stage, matches will be played as double-headers, with the first game at 8:00 PM IST and the second at 9:00 PM IST. The action is scheduled to span across four major cities: Vizag, Jaipur, Chennai, and Delhi, ensuring fans across different regions get to witness live kabaddi excitement.

The season will continue for two months, with the final likely to be held in the first week of November 2025, although the exact date for the final is yet to be officially confirmed.

PKL 2025 Streaming Details

Pro Kabaddi Season 12 will be broadcasted live on Star Sports Network. Apart from this, live streaming of the matches will also be available on Jio HotStar app and website.

Also Read: Top 5 Kabaddi Rule Changes in Recent Years

PKL 2025 Full Schedule

Defending champions Jaipur Pink Panthers gave an incredible account of themselves as they stormed to a 41-24 triumph over U.P Yoddhas in the Pro Kabaddi League Season 10 match at the Shree Shiv Chhatrapati Sports Complex on Wednesday. Arjun Deshwal got back to his scoring ways as he finished with 13 points.

Both teams got off to a cautious start, with the Panthers narrowly leading 6-5 after the first 10 minutes. And then the Panthers got going - Arjun made light work of the Yoddhas' defence and Panthers' captain Sunil Kumar produced a brilliant tackle on Vijay Malik to bag an ALL OUT in the 14th minute. The Panthers raced to an 11-6 lead and went on to seize control of the game.

Also Read: PKL 10: Mohit Goyat and Mohammadreza Shadloui Chiyaneh script perfect end to Puneri Paltan's home leg with 43-18 victory

Arjun got rid of four defenders in as many raids and a couple of sharp tackles saw the Panthers inflict a second ALL OUT within four minutes. The scoreline read 20-7 in the Panthers' favour and the Yoddhas were completely undone. The defending champs went into the break with a 15-point lead at 24-9 and they were in complete control of the match.

The Yoddhas gained momentum in the second half via two superb tackles from Gurdeep and a burst of pace from Pardeep Narwal offered them hope. The Record Breaker scored points in four successive raids, the last of which saw him get past Ashish and toss aside Lucky Sharma to claim an ALL OUT. The deficit was cut down to eight points and the Panthers led 28-20.

But the score difference was too much for the Yoddhas to catch up to, despite their defence shaping up better. The game was put to rest when Arjun produced a mindblowing SUPER RAID in the final minute of the game, which also led to a third ALL OUT for the Panthers. That final raid saw Arjun pick up his third Super 10 of the season and gave the Panthers a massive 17-point victory. This is their third win of the season.

A superlative performance by the Puneri Paltan saw them decimate Bengaluru Bulls 43-18 in the final game of their home leg at the Shree Shiv Chhatrapati Sports Complex on Wednesday. The win saw Paltan extend their stay at the top of the table and increase their score differential to an incredible +72. The PKL 10 will move to Chennai from 22 December 2023.

In a supremely dominant first-half performance, every part of the Puneri Paltan machine worked with precision and synchronisation. They inflicted their first ALL OUT on the Bulls within the first five minutes to take a 10-2 lead. Their defenders in particular were on fire, matching their raiders almost point for point through the half. 

A second ALL OUT followed soon after, and by this time the Paltan were streaking away into the distance with a 23-5 lead. The Paltan defence missed just three tackles in the first half, taking an extraordinary 10 points from them. They went into half-time leading by a massive 20 points. 

Also Read: Pro Kabaddi League 2023-24: Puneri Paltan decimate table toppers Bengal Warriors in record-breaking PKL clash for home team

The home side inflicted a third ALL OUT in the opening minutes of the second half to take a virtually unassailable 33-10 lead. From thereon it became a battle between the Bulls pride and Mohammadreza Chiyaneh's determination to grab as many tackle points in as many ways as possible. Chiyaneh missed a mere 2 tackles all evening to finish with 7 points (one even coming from a raid), as the Paltan wrapped up a comfortable 26-point victory.

Please find below the schedule for PKL 10 matches on Friday. 

Game 1 - Tamil Thalaivas vs Patna Pirates - 8 pm 

Game 2 - Haryana Steelers vs Telugu Titans - 9 pm

Venue: Chennai

Season 10 of the Pro Kabaddi League will be broadcast live on the Star Sports Network and for free on Disney+ hotstar.  

Dabang Delhi registered their second win of PKL Season 10 with a 51-40 win over the Telugu Titans at the Shree Shiv Chhatrapati Sports Complex on Friday. While the high-profile raiding duo of Pawan Sehrawat and Naveen Kumar duly obliged with 14 points apiece, the real star was Ashu Malik, whose 16 points proved to be the difference between the two sides. 

The opening passage of play was true to what was billed as a battle between the star raiders of each team as Naveen and Pawan Sehrawat went toe to toe with every raid. It was Delhi's captain though who was getting back more touch points, and soon enough Delhi inflicted a first ALL OUT of the game to take a 11-3 lead. 

Looking down the barrel, the Titans turned things around in a blistering passage of play, where they erased a nine-point deficit in a mere five minutes. 

Also Read: Pro Kabaddi League 2023-24: Puneri Paltan decimate table toppers Bengal Warriors in record-breaking PKL clash for home team

The pace of the game was relentless and yet again Delhi hit back. A three-point SUPER RAID by Naveen started a second Titans collapse with mere minutes remaining for the break. It came at a cost though as Naveen went off injured for the rest of the half — having logged a SUPER 10 already. Despite his absence, Delhi inflicted a second ALL OUT to take a commanding eight-point lead into the break.

The Titans piled on the pressure in the second half, and despite Naveen's return to the mat, had Delhi on the ropes within the first 10 minutes itself. A SUPER TACKLE by Ashu Malik on Sehrawat staved off the inevitable, but soon enough the Titans got a second ALL OUT of their own to cut the lead to five points.

Malik took the mantle for Delhi's revival, and soon enough was logging points with every raid, completing a super 10 of his own. His brilliance helped Delhi inflict a third ALL OUT and eventually wrap up an 11-point victory. 

Pro Kabaddi League 2023-24 will be broadcast live on the Star Sports Network and for free on Disney+ Hotstar.  

The Puneri Paltan bounced back ecstatically when they handed the Bengal Warriors a massive 49-19 loss — their first in Pro Kabaddi League 2023-24 — at the Shree Shiv Chhatrapati Sports Complex in Pune on Saturday. The Paltan army, who went down to the Haryana Steelers on Friday night, never let the opponent raiders settle and their 24 tackle points is now a new record for a team in a single PKL match. 

The home side did not let the occasion of facing the table toppers deter them from a perfect start. Their excellent defending got Maninder Singh in his first raid before Pankaj Mohite's successful two-point raid gave the Paltan an early lead. However, the mighty Maninder can hardly be kept out of the action. The Warriors captain, continuing his form from their record-breaking win over Patna Pirates, equalled the score with a SUPER RAID, proving why he is one of the best raiders in the game.

Despite this, the Paltan army headed into the strategic time-out with a slender 7-6 advantage and built on it with an excellent SUPER TACKLE to grab three points off Maninder once again.

Also Read: Pro Kabaddi League 2023-24: Tamil Thalaivas pull off a stunningly close victory against Telugu Titans

The Warriors buckled after their slow start and upped the ante in the final minutes of the first half. A second SUPER RAID in the game for Maninder eliminated Abinesh, Mohammadreza Chiyaneh and Pankaj Mohite, but Mohit Goyat and Aslam Inamdar's 'Never-Give-Up' attitude got them two consecutive SUPER TACKLES.

Such was their defensive prowess in front of a boisterous home crowd that the Pune team managed 12 tackle points and just 6 raid points at the end of the first half, adding pressure on the Warriors with the score reading 20-12.

The side from Kolkata continued to be pegged back and were ALL OUT early in the second half as the Paltan kept up their phenomenal form. Such was the domination of the Puneri men on the night that Maninder Singh, who got 15 points in the last game, was silenced for much of the match.

For every point that the Warriors managed to score, the Paltan had the perfect answer. Left stunned by the all-round ability and the mat presence of the Puneri Paltan, the Warriors fell to a second ALL OUT late in the game, effectively ending any chances of a win for the PKL Season 7 winners.

Pro Kabaddi League 2023-24 will be broadcast live on the Star Sports Network and for free on Disney+ hotstar.