Pro Kabaddi League 2017 Season 5 : Pardeep Narwal has copied the dubki, says Telugu Titans veteran Rakesh Kumar

Since the league’s inception, two players have managed to display levels of greatness that has helped them separate themselves from the chasing pack. Time and again, Rahul Chaudhari and Pardeep Narwal never cease to amaze and this trend has continued in season 5 of the Pro Kabaddi League.

Veteran all-rounder Rakesh Kumar has seen it all and is in a unique position to compare both the players. He spoke exclusively to Sportskeeda about who he feels is the better player.

“The kind of footwork Rahul has, Pardeep can’t match that. Rahul has every single skill, hand touch, kick, flexibility, turning, he has it all. Pardeep only has the dubki. There’s no doubt that Pardeep is a good raider, his dubki is the best and can take out even the best defenders,” Rakesh said.

Kumar reckons that Chaudhari’s use of the mat is unparalleled. Unlike Narwal who stays static, Rahul attempts to split open the opposition defense with his swift movement across the mat.

“But Pardeep doesn’t play and move a lot on the court, he only attempts the bonus. Raul plays across the entire mat and Pardeep only stays on the corner,” he said.

If there’s one move which has captured the imagination of millions around the world, it is Pardeep Narwal’s dubki.

Till date, no defender has managed to find the solution to this deadly move which Narwal executes to perfection. But Rakesh revealed that he has seen players who have executed the dubki much better than Pardeep.

“Yes definitely, Pardeep has copied the dubki, he hasn’t invented it. My seniors used to do the dubki. Our coach, Naveen Kumar used to do the dubki as well and his was much better.”

“You should see the 2006 Asian Games, he has been a great player. Ramesh Kumar from Haryana actually started the dubki and people started copying him,” he explained.

Rakesh though did put things into perspective. The all-rounder believes that room for invention is extremely less in a game like Kabaddi, suggesting that every single move we see on the mat has been inspired from a former player.

“Kabaddi is all about copying. I’ve copied somebody’s move, someone else has copied my move. Ultimately the player learns these moves at their respective clubs. Their seniors help the juniors and teach them moves depending on how good their movement is on the mat,” he signed off.