Top 5 raiders of Star Sports Pro Kabaddi League Season 3

‘Attack is the best form of defence.’ This adage perfectly sums up how vital the role of a good attacker is in kabaddi. A good raider not only leads the charge and weakens the spirit of the rivals, but he can also inspire his own teammates to contribute to that tactical destruction. However, being an excellent raider is not child’s play. It requires one to be quite skillful to be able to sustain the onslaught. Here are the five best raiders of Star Sports Pro Kabaddi season 3 who showed those skills and impressed everyone:

#5 Rahul Chaudhari (Telugu Titans)

The Telugu Titans skipper and the 2014 ‘Raider of the Tournament’ was not as sharp as he was in the past two seasons, but he still managed to make quite an impact. He scored 87 raid points – the fourth most in Star Sports Pro Kabaddi Season 3, with a rate of 5.92 successful raids per match.

Rahul’s lack of consistency was one of the reasons why the Titans could not get off to a big start at home. Chaudhari could summon his best only once in the four matches at Vizag as his 11-point haul downed the struggling Dabang Delhi.

But, he did succeed in righting the ship towards the end and thrashed Delhi with his 17-point blitzkrieg and continued to shine against the Patna Pirates and U Mumba. However, it was still not enough to fetch the Titans a place better than their eventual 5th position.

#4 Nitin Tomar (Bengal Warriors)

20-year-old Star Sports Pro Kabaddi Season 3 debutant Nitin Tomar played a huge role in revamping the Bengal Warriors team and helped them to a place in the top four for the very first time. Called ‘Tornado Tomar’ for his burst of speed, his relentless attacks made life difficult for defenders.

He, however, could not be present throughout the league as injury forced him out of the Patna and the Jaipur legs. But in just 10 appearances, he showed he had the ability to be deadly and scored 8 or more points in six matches.

He amassed a total of 81 points out of which 77 came from his raids. His effectiveness can be deduced further from his rate of 6.8 successful raids per match – the highest for anybody in Star Sports Pro Kabaddi Season 3.

#3 Rishank Devadiga (U Mumba)

Rishank Devadiga flourished on being given the responsibility of leading U Mumba’s attack when captain Anup Kumar was away on national duty at the South Asian Games. Since then, there has been no looking back for this 22-year-old.

He played a major role in the former champions’ 10-match winning streak in the league stage, making the Mumbai franchise real title contenders once again. His fearlessness and ruthless aggression ended the hopes of many teams as he raided with authority. It was Devadiga’s 8-point haul that sparked off Mumbai’s incredible comeback against the Bengaluru Bulls, ultimately edging them 29-28. He was also the difference-maker in Mumbai’s stunning 34-28 win over the-then table-toppers Patna Pirates.

He finished with 106 raid points and his efforts were rightly rewarded with the ‘Raider of the Tournament’ award.

#2 Pardeep Narwal (Patna Pirates)

Pardeep Narwal wreaked havoc on the defensive units of the Patna Pirates’ rival teams throughout Star Sports Pro Kabaddi Season 3. His sharp attacks complemented the other star raider of his team, Rohit Kumar, very well and the two combined to make the Pirates thoroughly intimidating this season.

The 19-year-old was a pure treat to watch. His ability to sense the right time to make the breakthrough completely belied his age. Twice this season, he inflicted an all out on the opposition despite them having 4 players on the mat – a 6-point return on each occasion!

His astonishing 24-point heroics against the Telugu Titans, will remain as one of the standout performances of the entire league, even though it happened to come in a losing cause.

His outstanding skills fetched him 116 raid points – the maximum in Star Sports Pro Kabaddi Season 3. The Patna Pirates can certainly be proud of the decision to acquire Pardeep from the Bengaluru Bulls this season.

#1 Rohit Kumar (Patna Pirates)

In his debut season at the Star Sports Pro Kabaddi Season 3, Rohit Kumar turned out to be a sensation for the Patna Pirates. With a mature head over his shoulders, the young Rohit never panicked and that helped him a long way. What’s more, his constant eagerness to learn made him thrive more as the tournament progressed.

Fleet of foot, resourcefulness and an innate ability to outfox the defender – Rohit had it all. In his 12 appearances for the Pirates, he scored over 10 a massive 5 times, with his highest being a rich haul of 16 points against bottom-placed Dabang Delhi.

With a staggering 109 points out of which 102 came through raids, Rohit was the deserving recipient of the Most Valuable Player (MVP) award.

Edited by Staff Editor