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Another high-octane Pro Kabaddi League season is progressing starting from 18 October which concludes on 24th December 2024. In less than 20 days, the 11th season of the Pro Kabaddi League will take charge on every Kabaddi fan’s digital screen.
Looking back, all 10 seasons of the Pro Kabaddi League season gave a world stage to the players to showcase their caliber in front of millions of fans. While fans enjoyed the thrilling immersive experience of contact sport Kabaddi.
From Anup Kumar to Pardeep Narwal, Iranian Fazel Atrachali to Pawan Sherawat, this domestic league has given many stars and led them to fame and success like never before. However, it all became possible with these players’ consistent performances, determination, and passion for the sport.
In this blog, we will dive deeper and look for the ‘God of Kabaddi’ as well as the top 10 Kabaddi players of all time.
Top 10 Best Players Of Kabaddi
1. Anup Kumar aka God of Kabaddi – Retired
Anup Kumar best known as the “God of Kabaddi’ is the legendary former Kabaddi player who also played for the national team as well. He won six gold medals while representing India, including Asian gold medals in 2010 and 2014, a South Asian gold medal in 2016, and the 2016 Kabaddi World Cup. He also received the Arjuna Award in 2012 for his remarkable achievements in the Kabaddi sport.
Anup Kumar debuted his career with U Mumba and spent five seasons before moving to Jaipur Pink Panthers. After his retirement, he stayed with the PKL as a head coach of the Puneri Paltan and stayed on the other side of the court. Apart from his coaching stint, Anup Kumar is also the Deputy Commissioner of Police in Haryana.
Speaking of his PKL stats, Anup Kumar played a total of 91 matches and collected 1348 raids with 523 raid points. During his time in the PKL grabbing extra points for his teams gave him another name “Bonus ka Badshah.” Because of his leadership qualities, Anup Kumar is famous as ‘Captain Cool’ among his fans as well. All these achievements of Anup Kumar helped him to earn the title of God of Kabaddi.
Also see: God of The Cricket
2. Pardeep Narwal – Bengaluru Bulls
Currently, Pardeep Narwal is the top kabaddi player in PKL history. He is the very first player to touch the magical 1000 raid points in PKL history. PKL Dubki King aka Pardeep Narwal achievements list is endless in the tournament as well as in the national team. From the 2018 Asian Games medal to coming out as a top PKL raider, Pardeep won three titles with Patna Pirates. He also earned the MVP twice for the 2016 and 2017 PKL seasons.
Currently playing for the Bengaluru Bulls Pardeep Narwal has played 170 matches and gained 1690 raid points. He is the most successful player with 1279 and even the most ever super 10s (85) in PKL history.
3. Pawan Sherawat – Telugu Titans
One of the most expensive players in PKL history, Pawan Sherawat is next on the list of the top 10 best kabaddi players of all time. Pawan Sherawat is one of the most renowned national kabaddi players winning Gold at the 2019 South Asian Games and the 2023 Asian Kabaddi Championship. He also won an Olympic medal in the 2022 Asian Games in the Kabaddi tournament. 2018 MVP Pawan Sherawat scored the most raid points for the 2018, 2019, and 2022 seasons. Currently playing for Telugu Titans, Sherawat has played 126 PKL games and scored 1189 raid points during PKL career.
4. Maninder Singh – Bengal Warriorz
Next, we have Maninder Singh among the top 10 players in Kabaddi. Maninder singh is famous among his fans with the name Super Mani as he holds the record for the fastest raider in the league to score 500 raid points. He is also the second-highest player with the most raid points and second with the most Super 10s. So far he played 143 matches and scored 1428 raid points. He achieved a career-best of 9 consecutive Super 10s in the 2022 season. Retained by Bengal Warriorz, Maninder Singh also won his PKL title with the franchise in 2019.
5. Rahul Choudhari – (Unsold in PKL 2024)
Rahul Choudhari is another dedicated kabaddi player with a long list of achievements. Playing for the National team, Rahul Chaudhari won Gold in the South Asian Games, and Kabaddi World Cup in 2016. He also won a medal in Asian Games men’s kabaddi in 2018. In PKL, Rahul Choudhari transformed from defender to raider and played 154 PKL games with 1045 raid points. He became the third player in history to reach 1,000 raid points. Despite his great achievements, he remained unsold ahead of the PKL 11 season.
6. Fazel Atrachali – Bengal Warriorz
Hailing from Iran, Fazel Atrachali is the only non-Indian player who is topping the charts of the top 10 best Kabaddi players. Fazel “Sultan” Atrachali also captained Iran to victory at the 2018 Asian Games. He won a silver medal in kabaddi at the 2010 and 2014 Asian Games and a gold medal in 2018. Atrachali is the most expensive overseas player, having won the best defender title more than once in the past two PKL seasons.
7. Deepak Hooda – Retired
Indian former captain Deepak Hooda is one of the best all-rounders in Pro Kabaddi League history. He is also an excellent national kabaddi player who won gold in the 2016 South Asian Games and an Olympic medal in the 2018 Asian Games. Deepak is the fifth kabaddi player who touched the 1000 raid points mark in tournament history. During his career, he played 157 kabaddi games and bagged 1020 raid points. In PKL, Deepak Hooda played for Telugu Titans, Puneri Paltan Jaipur, and Pink Panthers. His last season was with the Bengal Warriors in the 2022 Pro Kabaddi League. Apart from Kabaddi, Arjuna Awardee Deepak Hooda joined BJP, a political party, and started a new career chapter in his life.
8. Naveen Kumar – Dabang Delhi K.C.
Once titled Kabaddi’s rising star Naveen Kumar became PKL one of greatest raiders who always shines in critical situations. Winning back-to-back MVPs for PKL 7 and PKL 8, Naveen Kumar played a key role for Dabang Delhi K.C. in the PKL 8 season final match against Patna Pirates. Apart from PKL, Naveen Kumar also won Gold for India in the 2022 Asian Games men’s kabaddi and 2023 Asian Kabaddi Championships in Busan. For the PKL 11 season, Dabang Delhi K.C. retained their star player. So far he has played 91 games and scored 1005 raid points.
9. Arjun Deshwal- Jaipur Pink Panthers
Arjun Deshwal is one of the top performers who plays for Jaipur Pink Panthers in the Pro Kabaddi League. Deshwal played a pivotal role in PKL season 9 to clinch the second title for the Jaipur Pink Panthers. The franchise retained the elite player for the upcoming PKL 11 season in 2024. So far he has played 91 games and collected 947 raid points only a few points away from touching the 1000 raid points milestone in the tournament.
Outside the PKL, Arjun Deshwal won a Gold for India at the 2022 Asian games and the 2023 Asian Kabaddi Championship. Hailing from Uttar Pradesh, Arjun Deshwal also plays for Services team and Green Army in domestic tournaments
10. Ajay Thakur – Unsold
Ajay Thakur aka King of Kabaddi played in PKL for several years and became a part of the four major teams- Bengaluru Bulls, Puneri Paltan, Tamil Thalaivas, and Dabang Delhi K.C. In his PKL career, Ajay Thakur played 120 games and scored 794 raid points. His last season was Dabang Delhi K.C. in 2021. Outside the domestic Kabaddi League, Ajay Thakur captained the Indian Kabaddi team and led the squad for Gold in 2017 Asian Kabaddi Championship.
