Pro Kabaddi League: Top five defenders of all time

The league has seen its fair share of top defenders in the last seven seasons.

Since its inception in 2014, the Pro Kabaddi League, with the view to give an exposure to the age-old game of the Indian subcontinent has increased its followers leaps and bounds. The primary aim of the league was to glorify the game as well as to provide exposure to the players and since then the league has grabbed the eyeballs and currently is the second most followed sports league of India - just behind the Indian Premier League in terms of viewership.

The seven seasons in the Pro Kabaddi League have seen several national and International players leaving their mark. In the following, we discuss the top five defenders in the history of the league.

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 5. Po Surjeet Singh - 278 points

Singh is currently plying his trade for Puneri Paltans. Although the Pune-based outfit had a disappointing campaign in the last season, Surjeet Singh managed to score 63 tackle points for the Maharashtra-based side.

Surjeet started his Pro Kabaddi League career in 2016 for Puneri Paltans and went on to play for several other franchises like U Mumba and Bengal Warriors before returning to Pune in 2019. The defender, who plays as a right cover, specializes in dash and has scored 278 tackle points in five seasons.

4. Sandeep Narwal - 310 points

Haryana-born all rounder Sandeep Narwal has been one of the highly sought after players in the Pro Kabaddi League. He is also one of the three all rounders to score more than 500 points in the league, both offensively and defensively. Sandeep was part of the Patna Pirates side in the inaugural season in 2014.

Sandeep is currently playing for U Mumba in the Pro Kabaddi League and has prior experience of playing for Telugu Titans and Puneri Paltans in his career. The 26-year-old also plays a corner defender and specializes in body block move, which restricts the raider’s movements.

3. Fazel Atrachali - 317 points

One of the most decorated players in the history of the Pro Kabaddi League, Fazel Atrachali holds the record of scoring the most tackle points in season 4 and 7 with 52 and 82 points respectively. The Iranian is also the first foreign player to score more than 300 tackle points in the history of the league.

Fazel is currently playing for U Mumba and incidentally made his league debut with the same side, in the second season when they were crowned champions. The left corner defender has also plied his trade for Patna Pirates and Gujarat Fortune Giants in his career.

2. Ravinder Pahal - 326 points

Ravinder Pahal is currently plying for Dabang Delhi and similar to Fazel Atrachali, started his career with the same franchise. His heroics in the seventh season guided Delhi to their first final where they narrowly missed out on the title.

The right corner defender is the second most successful defender in the Pro Kabaddi League with 326 points. Pahal has also turned out for Puneri Paltans and Bengaluru Bulls earlier in his career.

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1. Manjeet Chhillar 337 points

Born in Haryana, Manjeet Chhillar is the most successful defender in the history of Pro Kabaddi League, scoring 337 tackle points till date. Chhillar, along with Fazel Atrachali, are the only two defenders to win the Best Defender award in multiple occasions. He was also the second all rounder to score more than 500 points in the league.

Manjeet can play anywhere in the mat, depending on his team's needs. The Tamil Thalaivas' player has plied his trade for Bengaluru Bulls, Puneri Paltan as well as Jaipur Pink Panthers in his career, without winning the league ever.