The Pro Kabaddi League, heading into its eleventh season, will return to the three-city caravan format. The PKL 11 will get underway at the Gachibowli Indoor Stadium in Hyderabad on October 18.
Defending champions Puneri Paltan are among the strongest sides, at least on paper, in the tournament after they managed to retain its Indian core. Having been part of the playoffs in six out of the 10 editions of PKL, Season 11 will see Puneri Paltan led by head coach BC Ramesh for a third successive campaign. One of the most successful coaches in PKL history, BC Ramesh has won two PKL titles with Bengal Warriors in Season 7 and with Puneri Paltan in Season 10. He was also an assistant coach when Bengaluru Bulls won the title in Season 6.
In PKL 11, Puneri Paltan are captained by India all-rounder Aslam Inamdar, who was retained by the franchise after leading the side to its maiden PKL title last season.
Download the PDF of Puneri Paltan’s full PKL Season 11 schedule here.
SQUAD ANALYSIS
The Pune-based franchise are among the many sides that have kept its core team intact in order to affect something similar in their league fortunes.
Having retained most of their core squad prior to the PKL 11 Player Auction, Puneri Paltan weren’t the busiest at the auction table. Their most expensive buy was raider V Ajith Kumar, who was brought in for INR 66 lakhs. Apart from V Ajith Kumar, Paltan acquired eight other players at the auction.
In attack, they’ve held on to Pankaj Mohite, Mohit Goyat, and Akash Shinde, all of whom contributed raid points at crucial junctures when called upon last season. This trio combined to accumulate 274 raid points, ensuring they shared attacking responsibilities last season. Similarly, most of their defensive stars from Season 10 such as Sanket Sawant, Abinesh Nadarajan, and Gaurav Khatri are also part of the team.
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Strength: Experience of India regulars Aslam and dynamic raiders Mohit and Pankaj. These players’ all-round ability makes Paltan a strong contender.
Weakness: The loss of Mohammadreza Chiyaneh will be huge hole to fill for Paltan. The Iranian accumulated 99 points in defence last season.
Puneri Paltan full squad for PKL 2024
Raiders:
Defenders:
All-rounders
Puneri Paltan will begin their Pro Kabaddi League title defence against last season’s runners-up Haryana Steelers in Hyderabad on October 19.
The schedule for the playoffs will be announced at a later date.
DOWNLOAD FULL SCHEDULE FOR FREE
Download the PDF of Puneri Paltan’s full PKL Season 11 schedule here.
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