Throwback: Pardeep Narwal's extraordinary display of bravery and willpower that won the Patna Pirates the PKL 4 final

When the retained players list prior to the auction for the Pro Kabaddi League Season 5 was announced, there were a few eyebrows raised when the double defending champions Patna Pirates opted to retain young raider Pardeep Narwal.

There is no doubt about the youngster's supreme skills, but with Season 4 best defender Fazel Atrachali also in the team, one could have expected the Iranian to be chosen as the retained pick as well for the new campaign.

However, in the mind of the Patna management, retaining the 20-year-old was quite an obvious choice. "He has the unique ability to turn a match on its head," explained Kartik Sansanwal, the Pirates team manager. "Keeping in mind his age and his exceptional talent, we had no second thoughts about retaining him for season five."

He also talked about another incident prior to the Season 4 final that reveals Pardeep's extraordinary passion for the game and hunger to win. The Pirates defeated the Jaipur Pink Panthers in the final of the fourth edition 37-29 to clinch their second trophy in a row and it was the youngster who made all the difference - scoring a mammoth 16 points in the biggest match of the season.

The extraordinary thing about his performance was that he was extremely unwell on the day of the final and wasn't even supposed to take part, such was the seriousness of his condition. On the previous night, he fell ill and had a fever of 103 degrees, which meant he had to be hospitalised and put on a drip.

Pardeep was hospitalised on the day of the Season 4 final

Pardeep had missed the Season 3 final as well after aggravating an injury during the warm-up for the match and had to watch from the bench as his team defeated U Mumba in a see-saw battle to win their first title. "He was in hospital till the evening of the day of the final. At around 4-5 pm, he decided that he will play," detailed Sansanwal.

It looked all but certain that he was going to miss his second final in a row, but through sheer force of will, he recovered miraculously and won his team the match with an exemplary performance.

With the new season starting in a few days time, all eyes will be on Pardeep to see how he fares over the three-month period. Teams will be making special plans to deal with the 'dubki king' and the immense threat he offers. He has already displayed his mental and physical toughness with this amazing story and if he can carry on from where he left off last season, there will be no stopping him!