PKL 2023-24: Pawan, Fazel praise each other ahead of season opener

Pawan Sehrawat, captain of the Telugu Titans and the costliest player of the league was in conversation with Iranian Fazel Atrachali, who will lead Gujarat Giants in Pro Kabaddi League 2023-24

Gujarat Giants and Telugu Titans, two teams who haven’t won a single title in the Pro Kabaddi League’s nine-season history, would be up against each other in the 10th season opener, scheduled for December 02, 2023, at the Arena by TransStadia in Ahmedabad. They would be captained by the skippers of two of the most feared international sides India and Iran as Pawan Sehrawat would lead the Titans while experienced Fazal Atrcahali would command the Giants.
 

Before the start of the season, both the players interacted through an Instagram Live session and showered praises on each other. Speaking about Fazel, Pawan said that he has matured a lot since the first time both played together for Gujarat Giants. 

"First and foremost, I think he has matured a lot. When we played together for Gujarat Giants in season 5 Fazel Bhai was the captain, and he was quite mature then, but there is a level of maturity one likes to achieve and over the past five seasons I think he has evolved and attained that maturity,” said Pawan. 
 

Pawan, who led India to the Asian Games gold earlier this year in what was a pulsating and controversial final in China, said that Fazel is one of the best captains he has played under. 
 

"Be it in this league, or all over the world I would personally rate him as the best captain, I don’t see a better captain than him going around in Kabaddi. Secondly, he’s a good captain because he’s got the ability to convert a weak player into a strong player for the team,” he said. 
 

"Lastly, when he’s on the ground he plays with a lot of aggression, leads the team from the front and displays the brand of Kabaddi he expects from the team, and this is good for himself and also for the team,” added the 27-year-old. 
 

Fazel on his part, praised Pawan for his longevity as the best raider in the world. “Firstly, I would say he is very brave. A lot of raiders come in every year and they shine during the matches for one or two years, but only a few players can sustain for five or six years playing really well, and Pawan has always been the best for the past few years,” said the Iranian skipper. 
 

Commenting on Pawan’s unfortunate injury ahead of the last season, Fazel said, “He was unlucky to miss out last year due to injury, but otherwise, whenever he is fit and playing, he is the best raider in the tournament. What I see is, that some players avoid going in for raids when there is somebody strong in the opposition, but for Pawan, the opposition doesn’t matter and he is always confident of taking up the challenge and going in for the raid.”
 

“Over the past two years, he has also shown that he is a good captain be it in the tournament or for India,” added the 31-year-old.