Pro Kabaddi League: Review of the first week, points table, highest scoring raiders, and MVP in different teams

Krishan Kumar Hooda's boys made the best of the opportunities created on the mat. Star raider and skipper Naveen Kumar Goyat topped the tally with 13 points. 

The Delhi-based side has won its first three matches as of now. Likewise, Bengaluru Bulls launched their campaign with power and intent. Ironically, they conceded their third match to Bengal Warriors, who had a shaky start to the campaign. 

Bulls' raider Vikas Kandola has delivered a decent performance, although his teammate Bharat outperformed him in two matches. After Pawan Sehrawat's exit from the Bulls, he was replaced by Vikas, who is now under tremendous pressure to match Sehrawat'e level. 

Speaking of Sehrawat, the Tamil Thalaivas raider suffered an outrageous injury during their game against Gujarat Giants, who were competitive despite the absence of an established raider. 

The Thalaivas managed to hold the Giants to a draw in their opening match but lost the next one to the Haryana Steelers. Now led by Manpreet Singh, who helped Gujarat Giants enter two finals, might turn the game around for the Steelers this season.

The Steelers are armed with remarkable squad depth this season. The same can be said about the Jaipur Pink Panthers, defined by the raiding trio of Arjun Deshwal, V Ajith Kumar, and Rahul Chaudhari. They seem determined to recreate their inaugural league victory. 

Furthermore, Puneri Paltan has not won a single match despite having the likes of Aslam Inamdar and Mohit Goyat on the team. Patna Pirates are also struggling to secure a win, although Rohil Gulia has pulled off interesting raids.

In the meantime, Telugu Titans and UP Yoddha are down with two losses each. After a hectic first week of the ninth edition, here is the updated points table. 

Points table:

Team	Played	Won	Lost	Tied	Points
Dabang Delhi K.C.	3	3	0	0	15
Bengal Warriors	3	2	1	0	10
Haryana Steelers	2	2	0	0	10
Bengaluru Bulls	3	2	1	0	10
U.P. Yoddhas	3	1	2	0	7
Jaipur Pink Panthers	2	1	1	0	6
Telugu Titans	3	1	2	0	6
U Mumba	2	1	1	0	5
Puneri Paltan	2	0	1	1	4
Tamil Thalaivas	2	0	1	1	4
Patna Pirates	3	0	2	1	4
Gujarat Giants	2	0	1	1	3

 

Most raid points scored:

Player	Team	Raid points
Naveen Kumar	Dabang Delhi	41
Surender Gill	UP Yoddhas	33
Maninder Singh	Bengal Warriors	29
Rakesh	Gujarat Giants	27
Bharat	Bengaluru Bulls	25
Arjun Deshwal	Jaipur Pink Panthers	25
Manjeet	Haryana Steelers	24
Vikash Kandola	Bengaluru Bulls	23
Sachin Patna	Patna Pirates	22
Rohit Gulia	Patna Pirates	22

 

MVPs in different teams:

Year	Name	Team	Current team
2014	Anup Kumar	U Mumba	-
2015	Manjeet Chillar	Bengaluru Bulls	-
Early 2016	Rohit Kumar	Patna Pirates	Gujarat Giants
June-July 2016	Pardeep Narwal	Patna Pirates	UP Yoddhas
2017	Pardeep Narwal	Patna Pirates	UP Yoddhas
2018	Pawan Sehrawat	Bengaluru Bulls	Tamil Thailavas
2019	Naveen Kumar	Dabang Delhi KC	Dabang Delhi KC
2021	Naveen Kumar	Dabang Delhi KC	Dabang Delhi KC

 

Anup Kumar served as Puneri Paltan’s coach in seasons seven and eight after his retirement from kabaddi as a player. Manjeet Chillar made his debut this season as the assistant coach for the Telugu Titans.