Top five raiding duos in Pro Kabaddi League Season 8

UP Yoddha have formed a solid raiding unit led by Pardeep Narwal and Shrikant Jadhav.

Pro Kabaddi League Season 8 is set to get underway from 22nd December 2021 onwards. All 12 teams have started their preparations for the mega event, looking to put their best foot forward in their quest for the prestigious title.

Strong raiding partnerships can turn a kabaddi match around at any given moment. Hence, teams look to sign top-quality raiders in the auction, to add depth to their offence with a mix of young and experienced athletes.

On that note, here are the top five raiding duos that will be exciting to watch in the upcoming Pro Kabaddi League Season 8:

5. Naveen Kumar & Ajay Thakur (Dabang Delhi)

Dabang Delhi have amongst themselves an interesting combination of youth and experience, in Naveen Kumar and Ajay Thakur respectively. Naveen has established himself as a young sensation, winning the ‘Most Valuable Player' award in Season 7, with 21 consecutive Super 10s and 301 raid points.

Meanwhile, Ajay Thakur is 10 points shy from becoming the fourth player in the league's history to reach 800 points. Naveen could benefit a lot from the latter's presence in the side, as Ajay will likely play the role of a mentor during the season.

4. Siddharth Desai & Rohit Kumar (Telugu Titans)

Telugu Titans chose to retain their "Baahubali" Siddharth Desai in the Season 8 player auction. He has shown tremendous raiding ability in the past two seasons, with 435 raid points at an average of 10.11 raid points per game.

The arrival of Rohit Kumar will further bolster Telugu Titans' offence, as he could be the perfect foil for Desai when they go hunting in pairs. Siddharth's top-flight raids combined with Rohit's confident leadership may strike the perfect balance for the team, that could see them reaching greater heights in Season 8.

3. Nitin Tomar & Rahul Chaudhari (Puneri Paltan)

Nitin Tomar will join forces with "Showman" Rahul Chaudhari to lead the raiding unit for Puneri Paltan. He has been a vital cog for the team, delivering consistently under pressure situations since Pro Kabaddi League Season 6.

Rahul Chaudhari, who has more than 1,000 points under his belt, will aim to bounce back after a mediocre campaign with Tamil Thalaivas last season. Both raiders have played together in the domestic circuit for many years and could form a lethal combination in Season 8.

2. Pawan Sehrawat & Chandran Ranjit (Bengaluru Bulls)

"Hi-Flyer" Pawan Sehrawat played a vital role in taking Bengaluru Bulls to their maiden title in Season 6 and continued his stellar form in Season 7, with 346 raid points to his name. Tamil Nadu-based Chandran Ranjit, who was a perfect partner for Naveen Kumar in the seventh season of the Pro Kabaddi League, is a consistent performer who has 271 raid points and five Super 10s in the past two seasons.

With his quick running hand touches and escapes, Ranjit will make sure that Pawan is quickly revived whenever the latter is sent to the bench. This duo could do wonders for Bengaluru Bulls as they look for a second title in Season 8.

1. Pardeep Narwal & Shrikant Jadhav (U.P. Yoddha)

"Record-breaker" Pardeep Narwal has taken the kabaddi world by storm, leading Patna Pirates to three titles in a row with more than 1,100 raid points, before switching to UP Yoddha for a whopping amount of ₹1.65 crores. He has scored almost 42.44% of the Patna Pirates' overall raid points in history. 

Shrikant Jadhav was UP Yoddha's most successful raider last season with 148 raid points and hence, the team made sure to get him back in the offensive unit for Season 8. It will be intriguing to see how this combination pans out for the Noida-based franchise in their quest for a maiden Pro Kabaddi League title.

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