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Pardeep Narwal has opened up on why he got substituted during the UP Yoddhas' PKL 10 season opener against U Mumba. After Narwal could not score any points in the first 16 minutes, coach Jasveer Singh took him off the mat, and the skipper remained on the bench until the end of the contest.
After that, Pardeep Narwal made a fantastic comeback, helping the UP Yoddhas win their next two matches. The UP Yoddhas captain is a regular part of the playing seven.
In an exclusive chat with Sportskeeda, Pardeep spoke about the team's performance in PKL 10, his teammates and also the upcoming match against Bengal Warriors. Here are the excerpts:
Excerpts from Pardeep Narwal's exclusive interview with Sportskeeda
Q. UP Yoddhas have recorded 2 wins and 2 losses in PKL 10 so far. Your thoughts on the team's performances.
Pardeep Narwal: It's not been that good, but it has not been a bad one as well. We lost the first match against U Mumba and thought it's fine because it was the first match, but after losing to Bengaluru Bulls in the last match, we have to think now.
Q. Talking about first match, you could not perform well against U Mumba. What went wrong that night?
Pardeep Narwal: I had a minor injury at that time. That's why my performance was impacted. That's why coach sir substituted me also so that the injury does not aggravate.
Q. Your fans were furious when you were substituted in the 16th minute. What message do you have for them?
Pardeep Narwal: Fans were disappointed, yes. I am trying to ensure that they are not disappointed once again.
Q. Tell us something about your partnership with Vijay Malik.
Pardeep Narwal: He is a good all-rounder. His nature is good as well. I hope he can also perform well for the team.
Q. UP Yoddhas' raiding is quite strong. So does the defense only have the responsibility to revive the raiders?
Pardeep Narwal: See the last game that we lost, Sumit got injured, and the replacement could not perform well. I hope Sumit recovers to full fitness before the next match. Even Ashu was injured. He is also expected to be fit soon. Once they are back, the team will perform well, I hope.
Q. You are the main raider of UP Yoddhas along with Surender Gill. So how do you decide which raider will raid more?
Pardeep: It is not pre-decided. It depends on how we are performing. The raider who scores more points gets more chances to raid.
It is good that we have two raiders of opposite sides - left and right. If we raided from the same side, we might have been in trouble because the defense gets settled. It is good for us, but not for the other team (smiles).
Q. Bengal Warriors have performed brilliantly in PKL 10 so far. Your next match is against them. Any special preparations?
Pardeep: Bengal Warriors is a good team. We will try our best to beat them. Maninder is doing really well. Nitin and Shrikant are also doing a good job. Even the defense is performing well. We will try to beat them.
Q. Bengal's cover defenders are not the strongest. Will you target them?
Pardeep: We will target covers, we will target corner defenders. We will give our 100% while raiding. I think their raider Maninder can trouble us.
