Narender, the young emerging raider in the Indian Kabaddi scene, was retained by the Tamil Thalaivas ahead of PKL 2023. He is currently plying his trade for the Thalaivas and is their lead raider in the season so far.
Narender was roped in by the Thalaivas last season. Notably, it was also his debut Pro Kabaddi season. The young and dynamic raider impressed one and all right away. He amassed 249 points in just 23 matches.
Tamil Thalaivas signed star raider Pawan Sehrawat for the ninth season. However, the 'Hi-Fyler' was ruled out of the tournament after just one game upon suffering a knee injury.
With Pawan out, the onus was on the young raiders to deliver for the Thalaivas. Seizing the opportunity with both hands, Narender did not disappoint. He scored 243 raid points and finished as the fourth-best raider.
Given his stellar performance in PKL 9, it was only logical for him to be retained by the Tamil Thalaivas for the tenth edition.
Which teams has Narender played for in the Pro Kabaddi League?
Narender made his Pro Kabaddi debut in the ninth season when he was introduced to the league by the Tamil Thalaivas. Upon being retained, he continues to play for the Thalaivas, which is his only PKL franchise to date.
Hailing from Budain village in Haryana, Narender comes from the home of some of the best PKL players such as Vikas Kandola and Sandeep Kandola. He was picked under the New Young Player (NYP) category by the Thalaivas ahead of season 9.
With the unfortunate injury to Pawan, the stage was set for the young sensation to make his mark in the grandest franchise league for the sport. Not only did he put up a spectacular showing throughout the season, but went on to shatter the record for the most points scored in a debut season. The record was earlier held by Siddharth Desai, which he scripted during the sixth season.
Moreover, Narender also scored the most Super 10s by a player in a debut season — 15.
He has already picked up 38 raid points in four matches this season, along with a couple of Super 10s. In his short PKL career, Narender has established himself as a force to reckon with.
He has a total of 281 raid points to date from 27 PKL matches with a successful raid percent of 48, an average of 10.41 raid points per game.