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It has been a memorable season of Pro Kabaddi which has left a drastic memory for Kabaddi fans to remember in the days to come. Emotions have flown high as we saw a legend in Anup Kumar bidding farewell to the game of Kabaddi whereas we witnessed the emergence of new stars namely Siddharth S. Desai and Pawan Kumar Sehrawat blazing raid points and shattering many records.
The sixth edition of Pro Kabaddi ended on a high note as Bengaluru Bulls defeated Gujarat Fortune Giants as the final score read (38-33) to claim their first ever title of Pro Kabaddi. Pawan Kumar Sehrawat scored 22 raid points in 25 raids as the tears of happiness rolled within the teammates of Bengaluru Bulls at Dome @ NSCI Stadium. Rohit Kumar who captained Bengaluru Bulls for the third time lifted the trophy with immense merriment.
Pro Kabaddi Season 6 has provided a lot of talented young stars as this season would be nostalgic to the fans as the season of emerging youths. While raiders like Siddharth Desai and Pawan Sehrawat have influenced many to acknowledge them for future terms, experienced defenders like Fazel Atrachali and Parvesh Bhainswal have shown pure class with their rock-solid defense.
Kabaddi fans have to desperately wait for some action-packed Kabaddi after a 3-month long Pro Kabaddi. As for the fun part to continue, we look at a team of players who had a fantastic outing in the recently concluded Pro Kabaddi League Season 6:
Right Corner: Nitesh Kumar (UP Yoddha)
Perhaps the cheapest retention by any team in Pro Kabaddi (₹6.6 lakhs) who has served miraculously for his team, this young lad from Services took UP Yoddha to the playoffs almost single-handedly.
If you remember UP Yoddha vs. Telugu Titans in Season 6, Nitesh scored a High 5 taking only Rahul Chaudhari down by almost every move with total preciseness whether it be a frontal block with upper body force or a diving ankle hold attempted from the bonus line.
A more mature player than before, Nitesh led the defense of his team with high confidence taking huge raiders down like Pardeep Narwal or Rahul Chaudhari. During his outing, he perfected his holds, tightly gripped than how he did back in Season 5.
Nitesh Kumar ended his wonder-run with 100 tackle points to his name in 25 matches with an average of 4 tackle points. He scored eight Super tackles and eight High 5s to be the first in the tackle points tally becoming the first ever person in history books to score a century of tackle points in a single season.
Perhaps, an Indian team call-up in the future maybe? Kabaddi fans are down with that with no doubts!
Right In: Siddharth Sirish Desai (U Mumba)
The 'Mumboy Wonder' who debuted in the sixth edition of Pro Kabaddi has left us all wondering where he was in the previous seasons? Siddharth Desai took the level of Kabaddi to greater competitiveness where many aspire of getting there, that too in just one season.
He scored 15 raid points in his debut game versus Puneri Paltan that saw many dropped jaws. He went on to score 50 raid points in 4 games becoming the fastest raider to do so.
Siddharth Desai is a perfect example of agility and reflexes combined with strength and reach. You don't find all qualities in a single raider.
He is the one who can push mightiest of defenders to the midline and also use his long reach to take hand touches/bonuses beneath the defense. He can escape beneath the chain tackle effort of defenders and can reach the midline in an attempt of a dash.
Kolhapur's pride, Siddharth became the third best raider of Pro Kabaddi Season 6 with 218 raid points at an average of 10.38 per game. He scored 12 Super 10s and 10 Super raids in 21 matches he played.
Despite a shocking loss at the hands of UP Yoddha in Eliminator 1, fans of U Mumba would be much more anticipated to see their 'Mumboy' back in action in the days to come.
Right Cover: Sunil Kumar (Gujarat Fortune Giants)
While given responsibility, Sunil Kumar has fared much better than his previous season considering he has led a team of youths.
A team which was estimated to be short of experience ahead of the start of the tournament, Sunil Kumar executed the wise words of his coach Manpreet Singh and captained his teammates to get 17 wins in group stages.
The partnership of cover duo, Sunil Kumar and Parvesh Bhainswal have dominated the best raiders the opposition had to offer. While Parvesh took down the opposition raiders with his upper body block, Sunil assisted his partner with his single thigh hold attempts.
Most of the times, the defense tackled the opposition raiders in a group. While defenders in many teams tried their luck in single tackle attempts, Gujarat did the opposite which was their arsenal throughout the tournament.
Sunil Kumar scored 76 tackle points in 140 attempts in 25 matches with four Super tackles and three High 5s. It was a feast to the eyes to witness Sunil Kumar's leadership which led Gujarat to be the table toppers of Zone A and ended as Season 6 finalists.
Center: Pawan Kumar Sehrawat (Bengaluru Bulls)
If you told a Kabaddi fan that Pawan Sehrawat would be in the top-3 list of most raid points in Season 6 ahead of the tournament, their jaws would get dropped with astonishment.
Here's a stat for you to remember. Before Season 6, Pawan Sehrawat's total average raid points per match was 2.03 raid points. In Season 6, Pawan scored at a massive 11.29 raid points as an average in just one season. An incredible display of exhilarating super raids and escapes worthy of remembering.
From extending his hand using his lower body force to finding the smallest of routes to escape, from jumping to a height of 6.5ft off Ravinder Kumar to perfecting dubkis and massive super raids like Pardeep Narwal, he did it all.
He ended his massive outing on a high note with 271 raid points in 24 matches with 13 Super 10s to his name. His 22 raid points in the final versus Gujarat Fortune Giants took Bengaluru Bulls to their maiden title victory as they were trailing by 7 points in the first half.
Pawan Sehrawat has changed the landscape of raiding innovation in Season 6. Kabaddi fans would be much more anticipated to see Pawan Sehrawat in the days to come.
Left Cover: Parvesh Bhainswal (Gujarat Fortune Giants)
Parvesh Bhainswal stepped up to the plate after he got picked once again by the Gujarat Fortune Giants and fared well for the team to put them on the top of the table in Zone A.
Many of the fans might not know this, but Parvesh Bhainswal and Sunil Kumar are cousins by birth who started playing Kabaddi together from the age of 12. It is the elite reason why their combination tackles get perfectly executed.
The most surprising fact about Parvesh Bhainswal is how he uses his upper body force to the most in spite of his physique which looks slim. A raider cannot escape easily from Parvesh's grip which is tight and his movement which is swift that enables him to defend with agility.
This time around, the duo of Parvesh-Sunil led the Fortune Giants in the defense as they combined their tackles to slay big match raiders on the mat. Parvesh's upper body force combined with Sunil's lower body pull was phenomenal to watch. At times, Parvesh played from the left corner as well to execute diving ankle holds or provide support to Ruturaj Koravi in the right corner.
Parvesh Bhainswal became the 2nd best raider of Season 6 as he scored 86 tackle points in 25 matches at an average of 3.44 per game. He scored five High 5s and four Super Tackles in this process.
Looking on broader terms, perhaps Team India have found the best covers for international ventures after the iconic duo of Manjeet Chillar and Surjeet Singh.
Left In: Pardeep Narwal (Patna Pirates)
We wonder if they name Pardeep Narwal in the 'super raider' category because of him being more than just an average human, especially on a Kabaddi mat. Over many seasons of Pro Kabaddi, fans have been awestruck by his talent which he produces everytime he gets a match to play.
This time, Pardeep broke the record of the most raid points by any raider in Pro Kabaddi history (858 raid points) leaving Rahul Chaudhari behind with 825 raid points. He also broke Rahul Chaudhari's record of having the most Super 10s in Pro Kabaddi (44 Super 10s)
The popularizer of the 'Dubki' in spite of breaking many records stood alone for his team to stay in contention for the playoffs. Despite having fifteen Super 10s in Season 6, his team couldn't qualify for the playoffs for the first time as Patna Pirates got eliminated in the group stage itself.
Pardeep averaged 11.09 raid points in Season 6 with 233 raid points to his name. He scored almost 46.97% of his team's raid points and carried his team's momentum as a lone warrior.
It was indeed an eye-opener for many fans to realize Pardeep Narwal didn't play a playoffs match in Season 6.
Left Corner: Fazel Atrachali (U Mumba)
It was indeed a memorable year for the Iranian, Fazel Atrachali who led his team towards the gold medal in Asiad 2018 and became the first ever foreign player to get a bid of ₹1 crore in the auctions. After handed the captaincy of his former team, U Mumba, Fazel lived up to his reputation with pride.
Safe to say, Fazel Atrachali performed outstandingly with his hard rock defense and led his team with valuable guidance as well. He gave youths an opportunity to shine in the big platform and show their skills with eminent.
Fazel in the defense was a feast for the eyes to watch for the Kabaddi fans. A perfect balance of speed and strength, Fazel executed his back holds with perfection. His waist pull and ankle hold were much precise than before with Surinder Singh giving him timely support that took U Mumba to the playoffs.
Fazel Atrachali scored 83 tackle points in 23 matches at an average of 3.61 per game. He fared well to his price in the auctions and scored six High 5s and three Super Tackles in the process.
Despite having an off day at the Eliminator 1 which put brakes on U Mumba's qualification, Fazel Atrachali would get remembered as the captain who led from the front in Season 6.
