UP Yoddhas bought Pardeep Narwal for a whopping 1.65 Crore in Vivo Pro Kabaddi auctions in August 2020 before the commencement of season 8 of the league.
The player had previously represented Bengaluru Bulls and Patna Pirates. He helped the Pirates clinch three consecutive league titles between seasons 3 and 5.
He continued to dominate the league in seasons 6 and 7 but couldn’t help his side qualify for the playoffs. So just when the new retentions were announced by Patna for the new season, fans and pundits alike were a little shocked to not find Pardeep in Patna’s retention list.
Some media reports at the time claimed that Narwal did not want to be retained, and hence he was released. Pirates’ coach Ram Mehar Singh had also confirmed the same indirectly in an interaction with the media.
With Pardeep in the auction, it was a known fact that he was going to be the highest-paid player in the history of the league. And when his name came up for the Auctions, teams went bonkers over him. The Yoddhas, in the end, broke their purse to buy him for 1.65 crores.
Breaking records on and off the mat, Pardeep Narwal is off to #UPYoddha for an earth-shattering ₹1.65Cr! 🤯
— Star Sports (@StarSportsIndia) August 30, 2021
Drop your reaction to #vivoProKabaddi's most expensive player EVER in two words!#vivoPKLPlayerAuction #NayaJoshNayaPanga pic.twitter.com/xG2k3Cjo0p
When the UP-based franchise signed him, they would have expected the same kind of performance from the player, which he achieved for the Pirates, but a change of fortunes for him has not really worked out till now in the new season.
Narwal has not been at his absolute best. He has struggled for form throughout the season. In patches, he has looked good, but overall he is still struggling to find his feet. In fact, Pardeep is not even his team’s most successful raider this season. Surinder Gill has gotten bulk of the raid points for the Yoddhas, while Pardeep has played a supportive hand.
Looking at the previous seasons, Pardeep’s average raid points has gone down drastically. If Yoddhas have to go through the playoffs, they would hope that he gets fully fit and finds his old mojo back.
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