Top 3 India Raiders at the Commonwealth Kabaddi Championship 2026

India's men went to the inaugural Commonwealth Kabaddi Championship in Ahmedabad and did not lose a single match. Eight games, eight wins, including a 54-20 win over Sri Lanka in the final on 31 October 2026. No opponent crossed 30 points against them all tournament.

Most of that damage came from the raiding mat. India's raiders put up 244 raid points across the championship, more than any other team in the 13-side men's draw, and they did it without ever leaning on one man. Here are the three raiders who topped India's charts, plus the ones who backed them up. All figures are from the official Commonwealth Kabaddi Championship 2026 player statistics for the men's competition.

India's top raiders at CWKC 2026 at a glance

Rank	Player	Matches	Raids	Raid points	Raid strike rate	Super 10s
1	Neeraj Narwal	5	56	46	82%	3
2	Naveen Kumar	7	57	43	75%	1
3	Aditya Shinde	5	60	40	67%	3
4	Pankaj Mohite	5	50	36	72%	1
5	Bharat	5	48	36	75%	1

1. Neeraj Narwal: India's leading raider

Neeraj Narwal finished as India's top raider with 46 raid points, and he managed it in only five of India's eight matches. That is the headline number, but the way he got there matters more. He was not a volume raider. He sent down 56 raids all tournament, fewer than both Aditya Shinde and Naveen Kumar, and simply converted a higher share of them.

His raid strike rate of 82 per cent was the standout mark in the India camp. Across the whole men's competition, only four raiders attempted 50 raids or more and still finished above 80 per cent, and Neeraj was one of them. He also picked up 18 bonus points, the joint fourth-highest tally in the tournament, and three Super Raids. Only Tanzania's Juma Sultania, with four, managed more. Three Super 10s in five matches rounded off a run where only two men in the entire championship recorded more.

What that profile says about him is simple. Neeraj was the raider India turned to when they wanted points without risk. A high strike rate means fewer empty raids and fewer gifts to the opposition defence, and in a tournament where India conceded so little, that control was as valuable as the raw tally.

2. Naveen Kumar: the vice-captain who carried the load

Naveen Kumar played seven matches, more than any other India raider, and ended with 43 raid points from 57 raids at a 75 per cent strike rate. India's vice-captain was the constant in a raiding unit that rotated heavily, and his 32 touch points were the eighth-highest in the men's competition.

The touch point number is the one to look at. Of his 43 raid points, 32 came from touches and only 11 from bonus points, so three in every four of his points were earned by beating a defender rather than by reaching the bonus line. He also added a Super Raid and a Super 10 along the way, and chipped in with a tackle point when India needed him in defence.

Naveen was the raider India used to set the tone. In the final against Sri Lanka he scored five points as India took a 30-10 lead into the break. For a side that rotated its raiders match by match, having one man available almost every night gave the coaching staff a base to build around.

3. Aditya Shinde: the big-match raider

Aditya Shinde sent down 60 raids, the most by any India raider, and returned 40 raid points at a 67 per cent strike rate. He also matched Neeraj Narwal on three Super 10s, and like Neeraj he did it in just five matches.

His tournament peaked at exactly the right moment. In the men's final against Sri Lanka, Aditya was India's top scorer with 10 raid points from 14 raids, four of them bonus points, a Super 10 in the biggest game of the championship. His overall split of 28 touch points and 12 bonus points shows a raider willing to go deep into the defensive half rather than settle for the easy point.

The lower strike rate is the trade-off for that approach, and it is worth reading in context. Aditya raided more often than anyone else in the squad, which naturally drags the percentage down, and he still finished third in India's raid points while delivering on final day.

The raiders who gave India their depth

The top three are only part of the story. Pankaj Mohite finished on 36 raid points from 50 raids and led all India raiders with 33 touch points, the seventh-highest in the men's competition. He also added two Super Raids, three tackle points and a Super Tackle, which is rare for a raider.

Bharat matched Pankaj's 36 raid points at a 75 per cent strike rate, and produced eight points in the second half of the final without being tackled once in seven raids. Shivam Patare added 28 points from 39 raids. Sachin played only two matches but took 15 points from 15 raids, a 100 per cent strike rate with a Super 10 and a Super Raid.

Put together, five India raiders finished the tournament with 36 or more raid points. No other team had more than three. That spread is the clearest statistical signature of India's title run.

What India's raiding numbers tell us

India's top three raiders scored 129 raid points between them, more than five of the 13 men's teams managed in total. Neeraj Narwal, Naveen Kumar and Aditya Shinde all finished inside the top 13 raiders at the championship, and not one of them played all eight matches. Captain Surjeet Singh, a defender, was the only Indian to appear in every game.

That is the point worth making about this squad. Tanzania's Juma Sultania topped the overall raid points chart with 80, and Canada's Manpreet Singh and Anmol Thakur were next with 60 and 55. Those teams needed one or two raiders to produce almost everything. India never did. They could rest a raider, change the combination against a defensive side, and still score at will, which is why they finished with the highest team raid tally in the competition.

Frequently asked questions

Who was India's top raider at the Commonwealth Kabaddi Championship 2026?

Neeraj Narwal, with 46 raid points from 56 raids in five matches at an 82 per cent raid strike rate. He also recorded three Super 10s and three Super Raids.

Who scored the most raid points at the Commonwealth Kabaddi Championship 2026?

Juma Sultania of Tanzania led the men's competition with 80 raid points from 117 raids in six matches, along with five Super 10s.

Did India win the Commonwealth Kabaddi Championship 2026?

Yes. India's men beat Sri Lanka 54-20 in the final on 31 October 2026 in Ahmedabad to win the inaugural title with eight wins from eight matches. India's women completed the double by beating Uganda 35-15 in the women's final.

How many Super 10s did India's raiders record at CWKC 2026?

Eleven in total. Neeraj Narwal and Aditya Shinde had three each, while Naveen Kumar, Pankaj Mohite, Bharat, Shivam Patare and Sachin had one apiece.

What is a Super 10 and a Super Raid in kabaddi?

A Super 10 is 10 or more raid points by a raider in a single match. A Super Raid is a single raid that brings in three or more points.

Conclusion

Neeraj Narwal brought the efficiency, Naveen Kumar brought the consistency and Aditya Shinde brought the final-day performance. Between them, they gave India three different ways to score, and behind them sat four more raiders capable of taking over a match. That depth, more than any single number, is what turned the inaugural Commonwealth Kabaddi Championship into an eight-win procession for India.

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