Leading by example: The highest-scoring captains in vivo Pro Kabaddi Season 7

A vocal leader is crucial to the success of every team however a captain that leads by example can drive his team to victory on his own. The following captains did just that in vivo Pro Kabaddi Season 7 -

1. Pardeep Narwal – Patna Pirates

The ‘Record-Breaker’ Pardeep Narwal delivered another historic campaign for Patna Pirates and finished second in the league in scoring with 304 points to his name. The Patna Pirates ace scored 15 Super 10s as well as, a league-high, 15 Super Raids on route to becoming the first man with multiple campaigns of 300 points or more. Pardeep also became the first man in league history to score 1000 raid points, doing so against Tamil Thalaivas in Match 83. While he couldn’t drag Patna Pirates to the playoffs, he did finish his campaign with a flourish, matching his career-high of 34 raid points against Bengal Warriors in Match 124 in Patna Pirates’ final match of the season.

2. Maninder Singh – Bengal Warriors

Bengal Warriors’ Maninder Singh was named captain of the side ahead of the new campaign and the raider repaid the team’s faith in him by delivering the best campaign of his vivo Pro Kabaddi career. Maninder scored 205 points in just 20 appearances, which included 10 Super 10s. His average of 10.25 points per game this season was the best of his vivo Pro Kabaddi career and his tally of six Super Raids was bettered by only three other raiders this season. An injury kept Maninder out of the team’s final two league stage matches as well as the playoffs, but his outstanding work over the course of the season ensured that Bengal Warriors finished in the top 2 of the standings and qualified directly to the semi-finals, before eventually emerging as the champions.

3. Deepak Niwas Hooda – Jaipur Pink Panthers

Jaipur Pink Panthers started the season with seven wins in nine matches and the catalyst of that run was the impeccable form of skipper Deepak Niwas Hooda. The all-rounder was on song early in the season and so were Jaipur Pink Panthers as they remained in contention for a top 2 finish in the standing till midway through the season. Injuries to key players and a run of two wins in the final 13 matches resulted in Jaipur Pink Panthers missing the playoffs. Hooda, though, continued to try his level best and finished the campaign with 158 points in 20 appearances. This was Hooda’s fourth straight season finishing in the league’s top 10 scorers, making him the only player alongside Pardeep to achieve that in the past four campaigns.

4. Fazel Atrachali – U Mumba

‘Sultan’ Fazel Atrachali’s stunning campaign saw him capture his second Best Defender Award, as he finished the season with a mammoth 82 tackle points to his name. The Iranian led U Mumba to their second straight playoff appearance where they beat Haryana Steelers with relative ease before losing in agonizing fashion to eventual champions Bengal Warriors in the semifinals. Atrachali was consistent throughout the season and scored four High 5s along with five Super Tackles. He also became the third man and first foreign player in vivo Pro Kabaddi history to score 300 tackle points. Atrachali’s ability to affect games rival few other defenders in the history of the league and the fact that he has made it to the playoffs in each of his six seasons in vivo Pro Kabaddi is a testament to his ability and his winning mentality.

5. Surjeet Singh – Puneri Paltan

The campaign may not have gone to plan for Puneri Paltan but their captain Surjeet Singh certainly tried his level best for the side in Season 7. The Cover defender scored 63 tackle points in 21 appearances, 29 more than the team’s next best defender. Surjeet led the league in High 5s with seven and his average of three tackle points per game ranked sixth in the league. Surjeet also climbed to fifth on the all-time tackle points scorer list and currently has 278 tackle points to his name. One of the finest defenders in league history, Surjeet was also the highest scoring Cover defender in Season 7.