PKL Best Defender: Who had the most decisive Points in the inaugural edition?

PKL Best Defender: Who had the most defensive points in the inaugural edition?

Defenders are as important as Raiders in Kabaddi. Sometimes, it is your defender who helps you in winning games. Even if the Raiders fail, the Defenders help in clinching points and are the pillar of any team. 

This is one of the reasons why players like Fazel Atrachali fetched more than a crore in the last edition of the Pro Kabaddi League. Fazel Atrachali is the all-time leader in the Tackle Points list. 

Here are the top five players with the most defensive points in the 1st edition.

Manjeet Chhillar

Manjeet Chhillar was appointed as the captain of Bengaluru Bulls in the first edition of the Pro Kabaddi League. He was outstanding in the first edition and ended up at the top with 51 tackle points from 16 matches. He also held 71 raid points, helping his team to reach the semi-final. His efforts helped him to win the Defender of the Tournament award. 

Manjeet Chhillar did not stop there and ended up as the Most Valuable Player in the second edition. He moved to Puneri Paltan in the third edition and later to Jaipur Pink Panthers. He also played for Tamil Thalaivas and Dabang Delhi before retiring. 

Despite calling it a day, Manjeet Chhillar is still in the second position of all-time leaders in the Tackle points list. He currently has 391 points from 132 matches. Fazel Atrachali is the only player with more points than Manjeet Chhillar. Fazel Atrachali has fetched 424 points and is the first player to cross the 400-mark.

Surender Nada

Surender Nada finished second on the list with 51 tackle points, the same number of points as Manjeet Chhillar. In fact, he had played a game lesser than top-placed Chhillar.

He featured in 15 games for U Mumba in the first season. Since then, he has been one of the consistent performers of the League, and in season 5, he topped the list with 80 tackle points. From U Mumba, he moved to Bengaluru Bulls and then to Haryana Steelers, and Patna Pirates before ending in Bengal Warriors. 

He has been a vital cog in the Indian team as well. Along with Mohit Chhillar, he has helped India win several matches. 

Dharmaraj Cheralathan

Dharmaraj Cheralathan is one of the oldest and most experienced players on the list. He played for Bengaluru Bulls in the inaugural season and scored 39 tackle points. He was accurate, and his strike rate was over 56. This helped him to become one of the most feared defenders of all time. Dharmaraj is around 48 and is still going strong. 

Jasmer Singh Gulia 

Jasmer Singh Gulia played his first season for Dabang Delhi. He ended with 38 tackle points in his 14 matches and 41 points overall. He is one of the veterans to feature in the Pro Kabaddi League. The veteran defender moved to Puneri Paltan in the 3rd edition. 

Rohit Rana

Rohit Rana played the first edition for Jaipur Pink Panthers. He played a major role in their title win. The defender earned 38 points in his 15 matches. He remained the pillar in Jaipur's defence for the first four seasons before moving to Telugu Titans in 2017.