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Pro Kabaddi 2022 will start on October 7 with a battle between last season's champions Dabang Delhi KC and season two winners U Mumba. Mashal Sports, the PKL organizers, have announced that venues in Pune, Bengaluru and Hyderabad will host the ninth edition of the Pro Kabaddi League (PKL).
Over the last eight seasons, Pro Kabaddi fans have witnessed some excellent raiding performances from the teams. Raiding is one of the most important departments in Kabaddi as teams can score more points from raiding than by defending.
Additionally, a raider can touch multiple players from the opposition team and complete an all-out in the final moments. This is impossible while defending if the opposition team has multiple players on the mat.
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The significance of raiding is very high, which is why teams tend to sign more than one game-changing raider at the PKL auction. In Pro Kabaddi 2022, some teams have invested a majority of their funds in one raider only. Other franchises, meanwhile, have formed an all-round raiding attack with two to three reliable options.
Before the first match of PKL 9 happens, here's a look at the top five raiding combinations to watch out for this season.
#1 Maninder Singh and Deepak Niwas Hooda | Bengal Warriors
Bengal Warriors retained their captain Maninder Singh ahead of the Pro Kabaddi 2022 season. Maninder is the second-most successful raider in PKL history with close to 1,000 raid points to his name.
To support him, the Warriors roped in Deepak Niwas Hooda at the PKL 9 Auction. Hooda is the fourth most successful raider in the league's history and has been one of the league's most consistent players.
Maninder and Hooda have a total of 1,966 raid points between them, making them one of the pairs to watch out for in Pro Kabaddi 2022.
#2 Naveen Kumar and Vijay | Dabang Delhi KC
Naveen Kumar and Vijay helped Dabang Delhi KC win their first title in PKL 8. While Kumar scored 207 raid points, Vijay supported him to perfection with 157 raid points.
Delhi retained their successful pair of raiders from the previous season for the upcoming campaign. It will be interesting to see how they perform in PKL 9.
#3 Arjun Deshwal and Rahul Chaudhari | Jaipur Pink Panthers
Rahul Chaudhari has moved to the Jaipur Pink Panthers ahead of PKL 9. Nicknamed "The Showman," Rahul has earned 968 raid points in his career.
He will join Arjun Deshwal in Jaipur's raiding unit. Deshwal scored 267 raid points last season. If Chaudhari returns to his past form, the duo could take Jaipur to the playoffs for the first time in five seasons.
#4 Pardeep Narwal and Nitin Tomar | UP Yoddhas
Pardeep Narwal is the number one raider on the all-time PKL leaderboard. He has scored 1,348 raid points in 131 matches and was FBMed by the UP Yoddhas at the PKL Auction 2022.
The Yoddhas also signed veteran raider Nitin Tomar at the auction. Tomar has earned 490 raid points in 86 matches and it will be interesting to see how he and Narwal complement each other this season.
#5 Siddharth Desai and Monu Goyat | Telugu Titans
The Telugu Titans have roped in three top-class raiders ahead of Pro Kabaddi 2022. They signed their former player Siddharth Desai at the auction and also bought former U Mumba raider Abhishek Singh. Former Patna Pirates star Monu Goyat has joined the team as well.
Goyat and Desai are two of the most successful raiders in PKL history. With Abhishek also presenting an able third option, the Titans have one of the strongest raiding attacks heading into Pro Kabaddi 2022.
