Pro Kabaddi League 2018, Season 6: 5 best raiders to have played for the Bengal Warriors

The sixth edition of the Pro Kabaddi League is here and the twelve teams on the mat have been training hard in order to put their best foot forward for the upcoming season. One such team, which had a tremendous outing last time around is the Bengal Warriors and this season, under the tutelage of Surjeet Singh the Warriors will look to go further.

After a string of poor shows until the fifth season, the captaincy duties fell on the able shoulders of Surjeet Singh, who is one of the best right cover defenders all over the country. From Zone 'B', Bengal finished with 11 wins from 22 matches in the round-robin stages to storm into the playoffs.

For the sixth season, the Warriors have managed to stitch together a confident team, around the retained duo of Maninder Singh and Surjeet Singh. Jang Kun Lee will be raiding alongside Maninder for the second season in a row while Mahesh Goud returns to the fold, having played for the Warriors in the first three seasons of the league.

Ran Singh, Shrikant Tewthia and Bhupender Singh will serve as all-rounders in the team and their contribution will be vital as well. While the team for the sixth season looks good on paper, there have been some strong performances for the Warriors in the past, which have stood out.

Here are five of the best raiders to have played for Bengal in the past.

#5 Nitin Madane

The nippy raider played his first season with the Bengal Warriors and teamed up alongside Mahesh Goud. Madane enjoyed a top season with the Warriors as he picked 101 raid points from 12 matches to finish as the tenth best raider from the first season.

After a positive stint with the Warriors, Madane moved to U Mumba for the further seasons and did well but soon fell out of favor and will not be taking part in PKL Season 6.

#4 Monu Goyat

The talented raider had his name etched in the history books as he demanded a contract worth ₹1.51 crore from the Steelers for the sixth season of the Pro Kabaddi League, after a terrific display for the Patna Pirates in season five.

However, that came after Monu's good show with the Bengal Warriors in season 4, when he picked 63 points from 13 matches. A relatively unknown entity back then only famous for his exploits at the local circuit, Monu's stint with the Warriors was one of the best in the team's history.

#3 Nitin Tomar

An experienced raider who has plied his trade with sterling returns, Nitin Tomar also fancied a top-flight season with the Bengal Warriors in the third season of the league, when he made his Pro Kabaddi League debut.

Tomar featured in 10 matches and amassed 81 points from 160 raids and quite often, was the man who got the Warriors out of troubled waters. His good show for the Warriors also rewarded him with a place in the Indian team for the 2016 Kabaddi World Cup.

#2 Deepak Narwal

For a man constantly raiding under the shadows of Maninder Singh and Jang Kun Lee, effectively essaying the role of the tertiary raider, Deepak Narwal put in a string of top performances, finishing with 87 points from 16 matches.

One of his top performances came with an 11-point show during the league, which shot him into prominence at a time when both the Warriors' lead raiders failed.

For season six, Deepak Narwal will be raiding alongside Pardeep Narwal for the Patna Pirates.

#1 Mahendra Ganesh Rajput

A lanky raider who represented the Bengal Warriors for four seasons before shifting to the Gujarat Fortunegiants for season five, Mahendra Rajput was one of the most consistent performers for the Warriors.

In season one, Rajput showed his skill with 21 points from 8 games and bettered his performance in the second season as he managed to amass 56 points from 12 matches.

The third season witnessed a massive difference in Rajput's playing style as he slowly slotted into the role of an all-rounder, with 7 tackle points from 10 matches apart from 19 raid points.

Although he could not be amongst the points in season four, Mahendra Rajput can be associated in the top bracket of the best players to have represented the Warriors.