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UP Yoddha grabbed the headlines at the Pro Kabaddi 2021 auction by signing former Patna Pirates captain Pardeep Narwal. He is the most successful raider in the history of the Pro Kabaddi League. Fans were shocked to see the Patna Pirates not retaining him ahead of the auction.
The Patna Pirates team management later revealed that Pardeep Narwal himself requested his release. The star Indian raider wished to be part of the auction pool. The Pirates granted his request and then tried their best to re-sign him at the auction but UP Yoddha outbid him.
The Uttar Pradesh-based franchise shelled out a whopping ₹1.65 crore to sign Narwal. It goes without saying now that UP Yoddha have a massive chance of winning the Pro Kabaddi 2021 championship, having added three-time PKL winner Pardeep to their squad.
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Apart from that, here are three more reasons why UP Yoddha could end Pro Kabaddi 2021 as champions.
#1 Pardeep Narwal has proper backup
One of the primary reasons behind Patna Pirates' recent failure was the lack of support for Pardeep Narwal. Monu Goyat supported him to perfection in Season 5 and Patna ended that season as champions. However, Pardeep did not get enough support in Seasons 6 and 7.
UP Yoddha have the likes of Shrikant Jadhav and Surender Gill in their Pro Kabaddi 2021 squad. The two raiders can give good support to Pardeep and revive him soon whenever he gets tackled by the opposition defense.
#2 UP Yoddha have one of the best corner duos in Pro Kabaddi 2021
UP Yoddha retained their corner defenders Nitesh Kumar and Sumit ahead of the Pro Kabaddi 2021 auction. Kumar plays in the right corner position, whereas Sumit is a specialist left-corner defender.
Both defenders were present in the top 3 of the 'Most Tackle Points' list the previous season. Unfortunately, their team failed to win the championship.
If Nitesh and Sumit continue performing in the same vein, the opposition raiders will find it challenging to score raid points against UP Yoddha in Pro Kabaddi 2021.
#3 Pardeep Narwal's experience could help UP Yoddha end their knockout jinx
Pardeep Narwal is a former three-time PKL champion. He always brought his 'A' game to the table whenever the Patna Pirates played in knockout matches. UP Yoddha have qualified for the playoffs thrice in the three seasons they have played.
However, the Uttar Pradesh-based franchise has never made it to the summit clash. UP Yoddha lost to Bengaluru Bulls by 45-48 in Eliminator 1 last year, whereas in the season before that, UP Yoddha lost 31-38 to the Gujarat Giants in Qualifier 2.
In their debut PKL season, UP Yoddha qualified for Eliminator 1 only to lose to Puneri Paltan by 38-40. The margins of the defeats have been very close.
A player like Pardeep Narwal who knows how to help his team win knockout matches could end UP Yoddha's knockout jinx in Pro Kabaddi 2021. It will be interesting to see if Pardeep can win his fourth title in PKL 8.
