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Pro Kabaddi league outfit Puneri Paltan announced on Thursday that they have retained five players ahead of the upcoming season, which includes three defenders and a couple of raiders.
Iranian defender Hadi Tajik has been retained by the Anup Kumar-coached side. He made his debut in the third season of the PKL and played for U Mumba under the leadership of his current coach.
The 29-year-old also played for Dabang Delhi and UP Yoddha before joining Puneri Paltan ahead of the 2019 edition of the PKL. Hadi has played 28 matches across five seasons and has earned 27 points in total. Last season, Hadi earned 17 points from 12 matches for the Puneri Paltan.
Right cover Jadhav Balasaheb Shahaji and left cover Sanket Sawant are the two other defenders retained by the club. Both players made their PKL debuts during the 2019 edition of the league. Jadhav has played 19 matches, while Sanket has five appearances to his name. They have earned 36 and nine points respectively and will be the club's key defenders.
Pawan Kumar Kadian has been competing in the PKL since the inception of the league. He has earned 279 points from 74 matches to date and is one of the most experienced players from India. Pawan Kumar has a not out average of 75.49% and has improved over the last few seasons.
He'll be the club's key factor in PKL Season 8 and fans will have their eyes pinned on him to complete successful raids.
Pankaj Mohite, the club's own find, is their fifth and final retention for PKL Season 8. He played 16 matches last season and earned 118 raid points for his side across 208 raids. The raider had an exceptional debut season with Puneri Paltan and will look to continue his fine run in the upcoming edition.
Puneri Paltan finished 10th last season
The Paltan finished 10th last season with 48 points, having won only seven out of their 22 matches. They lost 12 matches, while the remaining three games ended in draws. The Pune franchise will look for a turnaround this season and will give their opponents some tough competition in the upcoming season.
