Captain Pardeep leads UP Yoddhas’ resurgence

HYDERABAD: The ‘Record Breaker’ looked a broken man. At the time of Pardeep Narwal’s ascension to captaincy a couple of weeks earlier, his team, UP Yoddhas, was in disarray following a string of defeats and in danger of missing out on play-offs berth.

It began to look like the Yoddhas’ dream of winning the Pro Kabaddi League for the first time in its sixth year of existence would go pear-shaped yet again. Lending credence to those misgivings was the fact that Pardeep, too, wasn’t looking himself and the vibes coming out of the Yoddhas camp suggested that all was not well. The trademark strutting of stuff that earned Pardeep several plaudits and epithets, turning even his critics into unabashed admirers, seemed to have deserted him.

Those were desperate times indeed and with no signs of an upswing in form, the coaching staff and the team management were forced to rethink their strategy which ultimately resulted in Pardeep taking over the leadership mantle at a critical juncture of the season. And what a decision it proved to be in hindsight.

The season is still far from over as Yoddhas hasn’t yet assured itself of a place in the top six, but all the evidence so far has been tangible in the sense that Pardeep’s elevation has breathed new life into a flagging campaign. And what is more his individual performances have significantly improved as well allaying any fears that the onerous task of being the captain would weigh him down.

Far from being weighed down, he has thrived on additional responsibility with the team going on a winning spree, racking up a hat-trick of wins and losing only once in its last six matches. Now qualification for the play-offs seems well within Yoddhas grasp and one marvels at how quickly hope has taken over from despair.

Anyone who had seen Pardeep’s stupendous show against Dabang Delhi, he finished with an incredible 22 points, on the last day of the Pune leg would have serenaded him keeping aside their team loyalties. And how they would have fervently wished that they had a player like him in their own ranks who could make the seemingly impossible possible using his brains just as much as his brawn.

The diminutive Pardeep morphed into a colossus that day shaking off any concerns that had beset him until then. Pardeep has never been the one to bask in glory until the task is accomplished and like most of his peers he is sparing with words. He might not have a way with words but he more than compensates for it with his actions on the mat.

Speaking after his pyrotechnics against Delhi, a visibly relieved Pardeep touched upon the importance of fitness. “If one is fit, there is nothing that one can’t accomplish. I’ve been striving over the last few weeks to keep myself in a good physical shape besides being in a good mental space,” revealed Pardeep.

The Yoddhas fans will be quietly optimistic about how their team is peaking at the right time and, more importantly, they will take considerable heart from Pardeep’s resurgence. He is already the proud owner of six ‘Super Raids’ in the ongoing season and given his penchant for breaking records in a way that only he can, maybe the fans can even start dreaming about the ‘final’ date on December 17. Win that and one can rest assured that many more sobriquets will be attached to his name to go with ‘Dubki King’ and ‘Record Breaker’ that he currently has. Perhaps ‘Super Raider’ might suit him to a tee!