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Puneri Paltan's head coach, Anup Kumar, has revealed that the team will be aiming to stack up 70% of the squad with young players in the PKL Auction 2021. The former Indian captain also had his say on what went wrong for the side in PKL 7 and stated that they wouldn't repeat the same mistakes in the upcoming eighth edition.
Despite Anup Kumar essaying the role of head coach, Puneri Paltan had a forgetful campaign in the seventh edition back in 2019, when they finished in 10th position with just seven victories in 22 matches. Despite boasting star-studded players like PO Surjeet Singh, Nitin Tomar and Girish Ernak in the line-up, the lack of coordination and inability to deliver under clinical situations led the team to fail miserably.
The 37-year-old expressed that the team will utilize their learnings from the mistakes they had committed in Season 7.
'We haven't retained many players from the previous season except for one or two players. This season our focus will be to improve and not repeat the mistakes that we had made in the previous season. I've learned a lot from Season 7 and wil make sure that we utilize our learnings in the upcoming season.' - Anup Kumar spoke to Star Sports.
Anup Kumar, who has achieved a lot of success as a player and captain in the Pro Kabaddi League, couldn't get the job done in his debut stint as a coach for Puneri Paltan. The team signed many experienced campaigners back in PKL 7. However, the results didn't go as expected as many players were out of form, and the team couldn't synchronize as a unit.
Anup Kumar disclosed that he is looking forward to adding a majority of young players to the mix this season.
'When it comes to young and experienced players, last season I was looking at a 50-50 balance and things will change this season. Now I am looking at a 70-30 balance, wherein 70% will be young players.'
Anup Kumar executes his strategy with two new signings from the NYP draft on Day 1
The inaugural day of PKL Auction 2021 saw two new additions for the Pune-based franchise from the New Young Players (NYP) draft. Anup Kumar was clear on his strategy, adding Haryana's sensational raider Mohit Goyat and the Rajasthan-born left cover Govind Gurjar as their new signings for the upcoming eighth season of the PKL.
Mohit Goyat has been the talk of the town as an agile raider, who was also the top scorer for Haryana in the 47th Junior Nationals. Moreover, Govind Gurjar made his mark in the 67th Senior Nationals for Rajasthan, where he notched up 19 tackle points to lead the state to a bronze-medal finish.
With many star names set to go under the hammer on Day 2, it will be interesting to see how Anup Kumar and the team management will shape their squad for PKL 8.
