PKL 8: 'Hardly played matches in past 2 years'- UP Yoddha's Pardeep Narwal explains reasons behind slow start to season
UP Yoddha's star Raider Pardeep Narwal is no stranger to success. After all, he's known as the “Record Breaker” for touching unparalleled heights in the Pro Kabaddi League and since his debut in Season 2, terms like “Player of the Match” and “Super 10s” have become synonymous with him. However, he has had a very uncharacteristic beginning to PKL 8 as he has been slow to get off the blocks and points haven't been coming to him as easily as they usually do.
During an interaction with the Hindustan Times, Pardeep Narwal, who became the first man to reach 1200 points in the league earlier this season, revealed two main reasons behind his unusually quiet start.
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“It's been two years since we last played in the Pro Kabaddi [League] before this season. We hardly played [during the lockdown] and very few matches were held because very few tournaments took place," the “Dubki King” said.
Talking about his second issue, he added:
"Then, once we got here, we attended the camp and at the start of the season, I injured my ankle. I played 5-6 matches through a lot of pain. Just when I recover from one, I sustain another injury. But this is all part and parcel of the game."
-SENSATIONAL SURENDER-
Pardeep, so far in 13 matches, has accumulated a total of 93 points. While the raid maestro has been known to dominate the department in the past, it is his fellow attacker Surender Gill who has topped the charts for the UP outfit this season. After 12 games, Gill, with 111, finds himself at 6th in the list of most points scored by a player this season.
Talking about the support Gill, Pardeep heaped rich praise on his teammate.
"He has been supporting me extremely well. Not just that, he's supporting the team and also doing very well for himself. He is very at getting bonus points and is very efficient at scoring with his leg slip technique. Whatever he does, works very well for him," Pardeep remarked
-SLOW START, NO PROBLEM-
UP Yoddha, like their star raider, have experienced a shaky start to the season. After 13 matches, they find themselves 6th in the table with 39 points. But Pardeep is optimistic about his team making the playoffs.
"Both departments (raiding and defense) because all teams are very strong and they are very similar. So, it's important to rectify mistakes and keep up with them," explained Pardeep while talking about what's gone wrong so far.
“We have only recently picked up form (referring to three wins in the last five matches) and we still have a lot of matches to go. If we continue this run, there is no reason why we can't go deeper into the season," Pardeep concluded.
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