A Pro Kabaddi League champion and a winner of multiple international competitions with the Indian national kabaddi team, all-rounder Sandeep Narwal has left no stone unturned in his magnificent career.
Narwal has won all there is to win in kabaddi and certainly knows what it takes to reach to the top of his sport. As one of the most experienced players in the PKL, Narwal not only continues to be a star player but also a great mentor to young players.
The veteran can certainly identify talent simply by the eye test and can vouch for it without hesitation. In an Instagram live conversation on the Pro Kabaddi handle, Narwal revealed four young players that he believes will be stellar players and will go on to represent India as well. Here’s the list:
Sonu Jaglan
Narwal's first pick was Gujarat Fortunegiants' young raider Sonu Jaglan. The young raider scored 76 points in his maiden PKL campaign and was highly impressive despite raiding only sporadically. Jaglan managed two Super 10s and four Super Raids in his limited opportunities, providing a glimpse of what to expect in the coming years from this rising star.
Surender Gill
In a team that included three veteran raiders in Rishank Devadiga, Monu Goyat and Shrikant Yadav, rookie raider Surender Gill still managed to make a big impact in his debut campaign. Gill was the team’s second-highest point scorer with 80, picking up about four to five points in almost every game that he played in his debut campaign. Gill's tenacity and ability to read an incoming tackle attempt are well beyond his years, which is why Narwal has backed him to do well in the near future.
Abhishek Singh
After spending his debut campaign in Siddharth Desai's shadow, raider Abhishek Singh was promoted to lead raider by U Mumba in Season 7 and he did not disappoint, scoring 163 points in 21 matches. Singh scored 10 Super 10s in Season 7, averaging almost one in two games and was not out in 80.72% of his raids, meaning even when he couldn’t score, he ensured he gave away close to nothing to the opposition. The young raider was particularly impressive in do-or-die situations, scoring 37 points over the course of the season, the third-most behind Vikash Kandola (42) and Pardeep Narwal (41).
Arjun Deshwal
Narwal also picked U Mumba’s second-choice raider Arjun Deshwal to take the league by storm in the upcoming seasons. Deshwal played just three matches in his debut campaign in Season 6 but featured more prominently in his second season and scored 106 points in 17 matches. Deshwal needed just 191 raids to score his 104 raid points, giving him an impressive strike rate of 54.45. The youngster scored three Super 10s in Season 7 and expect him to score plenty more in the upcoming seasons.
Feature image courtesy: ProKabaddi.com
