Tackling is a vital part of most sports and it’s no different in Kabaddi. A good defence is the backbone of any team aspiring to win titles.
A super tackle is recorded when three or less defenders pin down a raider from the opposing team. The team is awarded two points for a successful super tackle.
Kalimuthu Balamahendran and Sandeep Narwal recorded the most number of super tackles in the opening season of the Pro Kabaddi League with six apiece. Jeeva Kumar and Ravinder Pahal were at the top of the leaderboard in season 2.
In season 3, Sandeep Dhull was the player with the most number of super tackles with six to his name. In the last season, it was Dharmaraj Cheralathan who rose to the top with a remarkable 8 super tackles.
Here we look at the players with the most number of super tackles overall in PKL history.
#5 Sandeep Narwal
Super tackles – 13
The 24-year old all rounder from Haryana, Sandeep Narwal was bought by Puneri Paltan at this season’s player auction. He was a champion with Patna Pirates in season 3, having played for them since the first season before going on to play for Telugu Titans in season 4.
He was a part of the Indian national kabaddi team that won the gold medal in the Kabaddi World Cup as well as the South Asian Games that were held last year. In a total of 62 matches, he has scored 161 tackle points at an average of 2.60 per game.
He has made 290 tackles so far and more than half of them have been successful. He has 10 green cards and 2 yellow cards to his name.
#4 Mohit Chhillar
Super tackles - 13
Defender Mohit Chhillar is from New Delhi and will be playing for Haryana Steelers in the coming season. He prefers the right corner of defence and was a champion with U Mumba in season 2. He turned up for Bengaluru Bulls in the last edition.
He has played a total of 57 matches so far in the PKL, racking up 170 tackle points at an average of 2.98 per game. He was a member of the Indian team that won the Kabaddi World Cup and South Asian Games that were held last year.
#3 Ravinder Pahal
Super tackles – 13
Hailing from Haryana, this 26-year old defender plays in the right corner. He played for Dabang Delhi in the first three seasons before switching to Puneri Paltan in season 4. Next season though, he will ply his trade for Bengaluru Bulls.
He has played a total of 48 matches and averages 3.17 tackle points per game. He has 152 defence points from a total of 290 tackles. He has 7 green cards to his name.
#2 Nilesh Shinde
Super tackles – 13
Experienced defender Nilesh Shinde, from Maharashtra, plays in the right corner of defence. The 36-year old veteran has played 54 matches in the Pro Kabaddi League so far, averaging 2.13 tackle points per game.
He has played for Bengal Warriors in all the seasons of PKL so far, captaining them as well. He has a total of 115 tackle points from 229 tackles made so far, out of which 102 have been successful. He has 6 green cards to his name.
#1 Dharmaraj Cheralathan
Super tackles – 17
42-year old Dharmaraj Cheralathan will play for Puneri Paltan in the upcoming season of the Pro Kabaddi League. The defender, who is from Telangana, has bags of experience and is adept at playing in both the left and right corners of the defence.
He was the star defender of last season, claiming 8 super tackles, which is the highest in a single season so far in the PKL. In a total of 59 matches played, he has averaged 2.56 tackle points per game.
Dharmaraj was a champion with Patna Pirates in the last season having previously played for Telugu Titans in season 3 and Bengaluru Bulls in the first two seasons. He was a member of the Indian national team that won the World Cup in 2016.
He has made 258 tackles so far, out of which 134 have been successful. He has scored a total of 151 defence points and has two green cards to his name.
