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One of the biggest luxuries of having a three-month-long tournament for an in-form team is that they can afford to rotate the men in their squad, giving an opportunity to probably everyone to display their skills on the mat.
The Haryana Steelers did just that.
The Steelers have been one of the best teams in the fifth season of the Pro Kabaddi League and have been looking to dethrone the Gujarat Fortunegiants from the top spot in Zone A. With so much confidence and with four more legs still to go, the Haryana team decided to give some much-needed rest to their top defending duo of Mohit Chhillar and Surender Nada.
That would not only help in their fitness but it would also give the youngsters in their squad some valuable experience. That was the principal reason why Vikas and Kuldeep Singh were put on the mat instead of the deadly defending duo of Nada and Chhillar in Haryana’s last match of their home leg against the Jaipur Pink Panthers and in the Steelers’ match against Puneri Paltan in Ranchi this Tuesday.
And what is more important is the Haryana Steelers coach Rambir Singh Khokhar constantly backed them even when they faltered a bit, thus instilling more confidence in them.
“We did not lose the match because of Nada and Chhillar’s absence. Our young players, who are playing in their place, are very good,” the Steelers mentor had remarked after Haryana’s 25-37 loss to Puneri Paltan.
Chhillar and Nada eventually returned on September 21 and combined to take the Steelers to a 30-26 win over former champions Jaipur Pink Panthers on the last day of the Ranchi leg.
Patna Pirates too looking to follow their example
The Patna Pirates coach Ram Mehar Singh too wants to take a leaf out of the Haryana Steelers’ team planning. In his post-match interaction with the media following Patna Pirates’ only loss on the last day in their home leg in Ranchi, the Patna mentor too expressed his desire to give a chance to the young talent available in the team.
The defending champions, who are aiming for their third title in the Pro Kabaddi League, need to rest their most dependable raiders Pardeep Narwal and Monu Goyat with the play-offs approaching and Singh told that he might just rest the duo after their only match in the next leg in Delhi.
