"Pardeep Narwal deserves to play for India"- UP Yoddhas coach wants The Record Breaker in Indian kabaddi team

UP Yoddhas coach Jasveer Singh has opined that Pardeep Narwal deserves to be a part of the Indian kabaddi team. Singh felt that a player like Pardeep can turn the match from any point and emerge as a match-winner for the Indian team.

Pardeep Narwal missed out on a spot in the Indian squad that won the Asian Kabaddi Championships earlier this year. Soon after, former Indian captain Anup Kumar shared his opinion on the chances of Pardeep playing for India in Asian Games. Kumar said that Pardeep does not deserve to be a part of the squad.

In an exclusive chat with Sportskeeda, UP Yoddhas head coach Jasveer Singh gave his view regarding Pardeep's place in the Indian squad and said:

"Pardeep Narwal deserves to play for India. His start to PKL 8 wasn't exactly what he expected, but he has been performing well since then. He is an experienced player and deserves to be in the team."

Jasveer Singh has worked closely with Pardeep ever since he moved to the UP Yoddhas in the Pro Kabaddi League. Sharing his personal experience, Singh continued:

"As much as I know Pardeep Narwal and what I have seen of him, he is a player who can win matches from any situation. He can handle pressure very well, and in that aspect, he is ahead of everyone. He doesn't panic and plays his natural game."

"We had to retain Pardeep Narwal at any cost"- Jasveer Singh opens up on UP Yoddhas' player retention for Pro Kabaddi 2023

UP Yoddhas have retained Pardeep Narwal, Nitesh Kumar, Sumit, Ashu Singh, Surender Gill, Anil Kumar and Mahipal ahead of the Pro Kabaddi 2023 Auction. The Yoddhas qualified for the playoffs last season but failed to end their championship drought.

Commenting on the retained players list of the team ahead of PKL 2023 Auction, UP Yoddhas coach Jasveer Singh said:

“We looked at the performance of the players in the last season and what we needed the most in the upcoming season. Accordingly, we have done our retentions. We did well in Pro Kabaddi 2022 and that is why most of the key players were retained."

Narwal was the most successful raider for UP Yoddhas in season nine. He scored 220 raid points in 22 matches and finished sixth on the raiders' leaderboard. Jasveer mentioned that the Yoddhas wanted to retain Pardeep at any cost.

"Pardeep Narwal is our strike raider and we had to retain him at any cost. If he had gone into the auction, it was difficult to predict what would have happened. We had thought long back that we will keep Pardeep with us," he concluded.

Pro Kabaddi 2023 Auction will take place next month. It will be interesting to see which players join the UP Yoddhas.