Kabaddi
Manoj Bhagavatula and Anirudh Menon 5y

PKL 6 Power Rankings: Ajay Thakur, Pardeep Narwal make top 10

Welcome to ESPN's inaugural PKL Power Rankings -- as we pick the best players in the Pro Kabaddi League. The rankings are based on seven parameters, each carrying a unique weightage.

Round 1 = 07 Oct to 23 Oct, 2018

#10 Abozar Mighani - 124 points

Defender, Telugu Titans

Iran's Abozar Mighani, playing in the right corner, is the main reason for the Titans turnaround from a team that finished second-last in their Zone last year to leading the table this season. He was almost single-handedly responsible for the Titans' 35-31 win over Patna Pirates.

#9 Ajay Thakur - 126.54 points

Raider, Tamil Thalaivas

At the end of six matches, the Thalaivas captain led the raiders with 69 points, including 20 in a single match, which is the most so far this season (although Nitin Tomar has now gone ahead after eight games). Not surprisingly, Thakur starred in the Thalaivas' 42-26 home win over Patna Pirates in the season opener.

It will fall on Thakur's shoulders, once again, to turn his team's fortunes around after the Thalaivas lost their next five matches.

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#8 Pardeep Narwal - 130.19 points

Raider, Patna Pirates

After disappointing campaigns -- by his own high standards -- at the Kabaddi Masters and the Asian Games, Pardeep Narwal has had a topsy-turvy start to the PKL 6. He starred in Patna's two wins so far but was slightly below-par in their two losses. It's too early to read anything into their four matches, but their struggles so far could be down to losing the services of raider Monu Goyat, crucial to their title run last season, to the Haryana Steelers.

#7 Deepak Niwas Hooda - 149.87 points

All rounder, Jaipur Pink Panthers

Playing in a team that includes former U Mumba captain Anup Kumar and star defender Mohit Chhillar, Hooda has yet to display the form that took his former team Puneri Paltan to the business end of the league in the past three seasons. But his consistent all-round performances -- with a super raid and a super tackle among his 16 points after three matches -- have helped him make this list.

#6 Siddharth Desai - 153.95 points

Raider, U Mumba

The significant changes U Mumba have made this season have worked, with the team second in Zone A after five games. The acquisition of Siddharth Desai has been chief among them. The youngster has been superb this season, and he recently became the fastest to 50 raid points in the tournament's history.

#5 Nitin Rawal - 192.95 points 

Defender, Jaipur Pink Panthers

Rawal was a revelation for the Pink Panthers in his debut PKL season last year, scoring 65 raid points, the second-highest in the team, and 20 tackle points. In a team comprising Hooda and Kumar, he has been the best player so far, with a super tackle and a super raid contributing to his 22 points in three matches.

#4 Vinod Kumar - 200 points

Raider, U Mumba

Although he is a raider, Vinod has made a greater contribution in defence, scoring five points by way of two super tackles. His defending has assisted Iran's Fazel Atrachali, Mumba's captain and the cornerstone of their defence in the left corner. This all round performance has helped U Mumba register a tournament-high Points Difference of 43.

 #3 Sachin Tanwar - 214.65 points

Raider, Gujarat Fortunegiants

In his debut season for Gujarat last year, Tanwar scored 159 raid points and was their 10th most successful raider. He has begun in similar fashion this season, scoring 27 points in total, including one super tackle.

#2 Kashiling Adake - 217.27 points

Raider, Bengaluru Bulls

Adake, the best raider of the league in Season 2, was brought in to assist Rohit Kumar with raiding responsibilities and has delivered on that promise - and more -- with his speed and flexibility, scoring 29 raid points in total, including a super raid and chipping in with a super tackle.

#1 Pawan Kumar Sehrawat - 275.08 points

Raider, Bengaluru Bulls

Sehrawat's return to his former team for Rs. 52.8 lakh was somewhat surprising, given the meagre 10 points he scored for Gujarat last season. But the 22-year-old has delivered on the faith shown in him, scoring 42 points in three matches already, which include four super raids and 20 points in one match alone. This, combined with a superb tackle strike rate, has helped him race ahead of the competition in our rankings.

(All stats courtesy Kabaddi Adda)

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