PKL 2023: What is a Do or Die raid? All you need to know about defender's biggest Kabaddi nightmare

The biggest stage for Kabaddi is all set to start from December 2, 2023, as the first match of the Pro Kabaddi League 2023 will witness Gujarat Giants and Telugu Titans taking on each other in Ahmedabad. Titans will have the likes of Pawan Sehrawat, who was the highest buy in the PKL 2023 auction, whereas Giants will have ‘Sultan’ Fazel Atrachali, who is also like a ‘nightmare’ for the raiders. 

3 things you need to know 

• Jaipur Pink Panthers are the current champions of the Pro Kabaddi League 
• The PKL 2023 will be played across 12 different cities of the country
• Patna Pirates are the most successful team in the history of Pro Kabaddi League

ALSO READ | Telugu Titans PKL 2023 Squad: Schedule, players & everything to know about the team

What is a ‘do or die’ raid: A raider's weapon or nightmare 

It is very important for any raider to touch a defender and return back to his end, if he wishes to earn points during any Kabaddi match. The raider also has to continuously murmur the chants of ‘Kabaddi-Kabaddi’ in a single breath. However, the raider has the leverage for doing two raids, in which he can take his full time of 30 seconds and come back to his end without touching a defender. These two raids are considered as ‘empty’ raids. After a couple of ‘empty’ raids, it is very important for the defender that he gains a point in the third raid, otherwise, he will automatically be considered out. 

During the ‘do or die’ raid, the opposition team is always relaxed as this time it will be the defender who has to attack, which later creates an opportunity for them to tackle the raider. At times, when there are three or fewer defenders and if it is a ‘do or die’ raid, the opposition team also earns 2 points by tackling the raider. However, there have also been cases when the raider has been able to sneak through the defence of the opposition team and has been able to achieve more than one point. 

ALSO READ | Bengaluru Bulls PKL 2023 Squad: Schedule, full player list & everything to know about the team

Will raiders dominate PKL 2023? 

Pro Kabaddi League has produced many quality raiders such as Pawan Sehrawat, Naveen Kumar, Pardeep Narwal, Sidharth Desai and more. However, besides the presence of such quality and attacking raiders, defenders such as Fazel Atrachali, Vishal Bharadwaj and Manjeet Chillar have been able to make their name. With the PKL 2023 less than two months away, it will be very hard to predict who will win the race between defenders and raiders.