Upfront with Pardeep Narwal: Favourite cricketer & actor, Asian Games hopes, playing with UP Yoddhas

The star athlete also revealed his thoughts on the legacy of Rahul Chaudhari.

The Pro Kabaddi League (PKL) season 9 has come to a conclusion after 12 teams fought out against each other for 137 matches. In the end, Jaipur Pink Panthers were crowned the champions beating Puneri Paltan. Throughout the league, the Khel Now YouTube channel has been doing the pre and post-match reviews and for the final, the "Dubki King" Pardeep Narwal graced the occasion as the third expert. Pardeep Narwal was part of the UP Yoddhas team that qualified for the PKL playoffs for a fifth successive time. However, they were beaten by Tamil Thalaivas in the eliminator.

Pardeep Narwal shares his thoughts about the season and his plans going forward.

Preparations ahead of the Asian Games

"I am fully motivated to play in the Asian Games if selected," says Pardeep Narwal. "It was a disappointing performance in the last edition when India failed to win the gold medal but this time we shall give our best.

Rohit Baliyan also said that ”There are not many experienced left raiders apart from Pardeep Narwal who have performed well in this PKL season. Deepak Niwas Hooda has been out of form which makes an added responsibility on Pardeep Narwal.”

Thoughts on Rahul Chaudhari

"Rahul Chaudhari is a star player in the Kabaddi circuit. During the inaugural season, I was sitting at home and watching matches of PKL on television and one day wanted to get into the league as well," said Pardeep. "I have seen Rahul play in front of the TV and played against him on the mat as well. He was the one who set the record for most raid points and I broke it and it feels happy to break his records.

Which team would you like to play for in the next season

"UP Yoddhas will not release me for the next season and I am confident of that. To be more specific I and the management have already come to the conclusion of me playing for UP Yoddhas for at least one more season," Pardeep replied.

The necessity for 3rd umpire intervention in the Pro Kabaddi League

Pardeep Narwal in the playoffs match against Tamil Thalaivas was not given bonus points in certain situations although it looked to be a bonus on replays. UP Yoddhas did not have a review left which did not go in their favour. Apart from the bonus, UP Yoddhas also complained about not being awarded four points and being given only three in one instance.

“Yes, there is a necessity for the third umpire to give crucial decisions regarding the bonus points. The on-field referees can go wrong at times. However, the third umpire is well-equipped with camera angles and can change the decision as required. In the past, there have been instances where the third umpire has overturned the onfield decision.”

Pardeep Narwal's Favourites

Cricketer - Virat Kohli

Actor - Salman Khan

Actress - Alia Bhatt

Fans' support & love

At the start, I never knew I would be playing Kabaddi and would be getting a job through this game. Also never knew there will be a league like Pro Kabaddi League (PKL) that will become this huge. Will always be grateful to the fans.