Pro Kabaddi League 2018: 5 raiders who you might not know played for Bengal Warriors

The Bengal Warriors, in the last season, led by veteran defender Surjeet Singh topped the Zone 'B' table with 11 wins from 22 matches and stamped their dominance in the league, only to, unfortunately, miss out on a place in the finals.

However, all of this came only after a string of poor performances that demanded a lot more from the team which plays all of its home matches at the Netaji Indoor Stadium in West Bengal. A 7th place finish in the inaugural season was followed by a better finish in the next season, one place jump to 6th.

In the third season, the Warriors managed to qualify for the playoffs but finished fourth before finishing with the wooden spoon in the fourth season. Ahead of the fifth season, skipper Surjeet Singh promised a revival in performance which was on show as the Warriors claimed a string of victories to put themselves on top.

Overall of these past seasons, there have been some players who have represented the Warriors but have been forgotten. Ahead of the Pro Kabaddi Season 6, here are five players who you might not have known played for the Warriors.

---

#5 Mahesh Goud

Mahesh Goud in action against the Bengaluru Bulls

A lanky raider who has often lurked in the shadows of the other top raiders in the teams he has represented so far, Mahesh Goud was a major part of the Bengal Warriors in the first three seasons of the Pro Kabaddi League.

In the inaugural season, Mahesh played 13 matches and picked up 59 points but faded away in the second season, failing to feature in a lot of games as he played only one game where he picked three points.

The third season did not see Mahesh at his best as he could only muster 34 points from 13 matches before he moved to the Patna Pirates in the fourth season, where he played only 7 matches. A constant presence in the UP Yoddha unit for Season 5, Goud picked up 42 points from 21 matches and in the sixth season, Mahesh will be reuniting with his first PKL team.

#4 Nitin Madane

Nitin Madane was a key figure from season 3 and 4

A versatile raider who was always amongst the points, Nitin Madane happened to be in top form, playing a huge role in the Warriors' campaign as part of the third season of the Pro Kabaddi League.

With 165 points from 37 matches, Nitin Madane did make a huge name for himself as he went on to play for U Mumba, but was unfortunate to miss out from joining a team at the end of the sixth season auctions, much to the shock of many Kabaddi pundits.

#3 Deepak Narwal

Deepak Narwal's gutsy raiding earned him a number of accolades

For a man who has proved his worth as one of the quickest raiders on the mat, Deepak Narwal's experience and excellent show at the Patna Pirates in his first two seasons, including a top display in the second season as he finished on top of the raiders' charts for the Pirates.

Narwal made a move to Dabang Delhi for the fourth season where he was unfortunate to be hit by an injury which saw him lose out on a place in the Delhi setup as he moved to the Bengal Warriors for Season 5.

In 16 games, Deepak Narwal amassed 87 points including four Super 10s as he executed his role of a support raider to perfection. For the sixth season, Deepak Narwal will be playing with the Patna Pirates.

#2 Nitin Tomar

Nitin Tomar executes a kick

One of the better raiders in the competition, Nitin Tomar was the talk of the town at the end of the PKL 5 auctions, emerging as the costliest buy from the auctions. Tomar's career started with the Bengal Warriors in Season 3, where picked 81 points from 10 matches.

The next season, he shifted to the Puneri Paltan and played in 12 matches, picking up only 34 points. However, his talent saw him demand a hefty sum from the UP Yoddha for Season 5, and while captaining the side, also finished as the side's highest scorer with 177 points from 20 matches.

In Season 6, Nitin Tomar will be back with the Puneri Paltan where he played the fourth season.

#1 Monu Goyat

Monu Goyat started his career with the Warriors

An agile raider whose impeccable reading of the game and its situations have brought him a lot of positive results, Monu Goyat started his PKL career with the Bengal Warriors in Season 3 from which he scored 63 points from 13 matches.

For the fourth season, Monu shifted base to the Patna Pirates where he excelled with 202 points from 26 matches, although he played under the shadow of Pardeep Narwal. In the season six auctions, Monu grabbed the headlines as he was bought for a sum of ₹1.51 crore rupees, the highest contract for a non-cricket Indian athlete and will turn out for the Haryana Steelers.