PKL 9: UP Yoddhas appoint Pardeep Narwal as new captain

The Dubki King replaced out of form Nitesh Kumar.

UP Yoddhas - the GMR owned franchisee representing the state of Uttar Pradesh in Pro Kabaddi League, today announced the appointment of Dubki King Pardeep Narwal as their captain for the remainder of Pro Kabaddi League Season 9.

Pardeep replaces Nitesh Kumar, who has been the captain for UP Yoddhas for their 2 previous seasons and till their last game against Puneri Paltans this season. Pardeep Narwal who not only is a force to reckon with in the Pro Kabaddi League being the only raider to have earned over 1400 raid points, but is also one of the iconic kabaddi players in the Indian kabaddi circle.

Pardeep in the past has captained Patna Pirates and helped them win three back-to-back pro kabaddi league titles. UP Yoddhas are currently placed number 10th in the Pro Kabaddi league standings with 24 points to their kitty. They would be facing Haryana Steelers tonight which would also kick-off Pardeep’s journey with the team as a captain. The match will be broadcast LIVE on Star Sports Network and can be streamed LIVE on Disney Hotstar 09:30 p.m. (IST) onwards on 05th November, 2022.

Yesterday Puneri Paltan came out all guns blazing and registered a 40-31 victory over  Yoddhas in which former captain Nitesh Kumar scored 0 points.

Commenting on this announcement, Jasvir Singh, Head Coach UP Yoddhas, said, “Nitesh is one of our finest defenders and nothing changes that. This season has been testing and hence to concentrate on his game and performance Nitesh himself took the decision of giving up on captaincy. Once he expressed his desire, we knowing his worth respected it and after a long thorough analysis we only found Pradeep as the best option, given his stature within the team and his past experience leading his past franchise, to take up the role as a captain for UP Yoddhas.”

Pardeep Narwal has been one of the biggest icons of the Pro Kabaddi League as statistically there’s nothing that he is left to achieve as a raider. He is currently placed on top of each raiding stat table viz; Total Points, Raid Points, Successful Raids, Average Raid Points, Super Raids and Super 10s of overall seasons of Pro Kabaddi League. Known for his iconic dubkis and multi-points raids with this added responsibility, Pardeep will now look forward to his journey with UP Yoddhas conquering the summit.