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Puneri Paltan's head coach Anup Kumar explained the thought process behind the team's retention ahead of PKL Auction 2021.
The Pune-based franchise has retained five players - Hadi Tajik, Pankaj Mohite, Balasaheb Jadhav, Pawan Kadian and Sanket Sawant - for the upcoming Pro Kabaddi League season.
In an IGTV video posted by Puneri Paltan today, Anup Kumar disclosed why he decided to retain the services of Tajik and Kadian.
"Hadi is the one overseas player that we have retained. He performed well in the last season whenever he got an opportunity to play. Pawan Kadian's performances in the previous season were not up to the mark, but he performed well in the local tournaments that he played later. Hence, we have retained him," Anup Kumar said.
Hadi Tajik scored 16 tackle points in 12 matches for Puneri Paltan last season. The Iranian defender will be keen to make his mark in the 2021 edition of the league.
Anup Kumar added that the other three players have also been retained after considering their recent performances.
I will try my best to ensure that previous season's mistakes are not repeated again: Anup Kumar
After achieving a lot of success as a player and captain in the Pro Kabaddi League, Anup Kumar made his debut as a coach in the previous season. Unfortunately, his team Puneri Paltan finished in 10th position and missed out on a place in the playoffs.
Kumar stated in the same video that he learned many new things in PKL 2019, and he was looking forward to be a better coach in 2021.
"Last season was my first season as a coach. Unfortunately, it was a bad season for us, but I learned a lot of things, and I will try my best to ensure that those mistakes are not repeated again," Anup Kumar concluded.
