PKL 2024: Top 5 players to challenge for Green Armband in PKL 11

The Pro Kabaddi League (PKL) season 11 is scheduled to begin on 18 October 2024. In the PKL, the raiders who get the most raid points throughout the season will be awarded an Green Armband. The PKL 11 will see many contenders who will challenge for the Green Armband, but, the Top 5 players who standout in this race are -

1. Arjun Deshwal

Arjun Deshwal, the talismanic raider of the Jaipur Pink Panthers, is one of the best raiders in PKL's history. He started his PKL career with U Mumba in season 6, where he didn’t get much opportunity and scored 4 raid points in 3 matches. The following season he performed decently and scored 104 raid points in 19 games. In PKL 8, he was picked by Jaipur Pink Panthers and since then he has been the mainstay raider of the team and will be the frontline raider for Panthers in PKL 11.

In PKL season 8, Arjun scored 267 raid points, including 16 Super 10s and 6 Super Raids. This was his breakout performance, which solidified his status as a prolific raider. Arjun won the Most Valuable Player (MVP) award in season 9 and the Green Armband for being the best raider in the tournament. Notably, he scored a remarkable 296 raid points, including 17 Super 10s and 7 Super Raids. Furthermore, his incredible performance helped the Panthers clinch their second PKL title. In PKL 10, Arjun was the joint most raid points scorer with Ashu Malik, both scored 276 points. 

2. Naveen Kumar Goyat

Since his debut in the Pro Kabaddi League in season 6, Naveen Kumar Goyat has stayed loyal to his franchise, Dabang Delhi KC. In his debut season, Naveen scored 172 raid points, with 8 Super 10s and 2 Super Raids. Since his debut, he made a name for himself among the best raiders and was fondly called ‘Naveen Express’. In the PKL season 7, he tore apart the defence of every single team as he scored a staggering 301 raid points with an impressive average of 13.09, and also scored a massive 22 Super 10s. 

Dabang Delhi won the PKL season 8 and the express raider Naveen played a pivotal role in their title glory. While he didn’t play all the matches in PKL 8, still managed to score 207 raid points at an average of 12.18, including 12 Super 10s. Naveen was awarded the Most Valuable Player (MVP) award in PKL seaosn 7 and 8. PKL 9 saw him scoring 254 raid points in 23 games at an average of 11.04, including 16 Super 10s. 

In PKL season 10, he suffered an injury and was ruled out of the tournament mid-season. However, before his injury, Naveen played a total of 6 matches and with an impressive average of 11.83, he amassed 71 raid points. In PKL 11 too, Naveen will be playing for Dabang Delhi.

3. Pawan Sehrawat

Known as the ‘Hi-Flyer’ in the world of Kabaddi, Pawan Sehrawat has quickly made a name for himself among the quality players. He debuted in the PKL in season 3, while donning the jersey of Bengaluru. He scored 45 raid points in matches. His breakout season came in PKL 6, where he amassed 271 raid points, including 13 Super 10s and 11 Super Raids. His impressive performance helped the Bengaluru Bulls clinch their only PKL title and got him the Most Valuable Player (MVP) award.

PKL season 8 was his best as he racked 304 raid points, including 18 Super 10s and 6 Super Raids. He also won the Green Armband for his remarkable performance in season 8. PKL season 9 saw him getting injured in the first match he played. Due to the injury, he was ruled out of the tournament. While playing for Telugu Titans Pawan made an impressive comeback in PKL 10, where he scored 202 raid points. In PKL 11 he’ll be representing Telugu Titans.

4. Ashu Malik

Ashu Malik, a young prodigy impressed everyone with his skills in the PKL’s previous season. He scored 276 raid points in PKL 10, including 15 Super 10s and 9 Super Raids. Ashu debuted in PKL with Dabang Delhi colours in season 8 where he scored 51 raid points. In PKL season 9, he scored 141 raid points. Notably, his breakout season was PKL 10, where he amassed 276 raid points and also won the Green Armband. He will continue to be a part of the Dabag Delhi raiding setup.

5. Maninder Singh/ Pardeep Narwal

Two of the most experienced raiders in the PKL, Maninder Singh and Pardeep Narwal can challenge other raiders for the Green Armband. Maninder Singh has won the inaugural season of the PKL with Jaipur Pink Panthers. Additionally, he won another PKL title win Bengal Warriorz in season 7. Overall, he has scored a total of 1428 raid points with an impressive average of 9.99 and 72 Super 10s. For being fit in every PKL season, he is called ‘Mighty Mani’. In PKL 11, the ‘Might Mani’ will be playing for Bengal Warriorz.

Meanwhile, Pardeep Narwal also known as the ‘Record-Breaker’ has the most number of raid points in the history of PKL. He has 1690 raid points to his name. Pardeep debuted in PKL with Bengaluru Bulls colours in season 2, where he scored only 9 raid points. His breakout season came in PKL 5, while playing for Patna Pirates he amassed a staggering 369 raid points. This is the highest raid point by any player in the single PKL edition. His incredible performance helped Patna Pirates pirates clinch their third consecutive PKL title.

In PKL 3 and PKL 4 too, Pardeep was part of Patna Pirates squad, who eventually won both seasons. In PKL 3 he scored 116 raid points and in PKL 4 he earned 131 raid points. For his exceptional performance in PKL season 4 and 5, he was awarded the Most Valuable Player (MVP) award. 

The PKL 11 is going to be a thrilling season to watch. These impressive raiders are all ready to showcase their skills and play a pivotal role in making their team the PKL champion. However, there are several other raiders like Sachin Tanwar, Narender Kandola, Surender Gill, Guman Singh, and Amirmohammad Zafardanesh who can give tough competition to win Green Armband in PKL 11.