Pro Kabaddi League 2017 Season 5: Puneri Paltan star set to return to starting lineup against Haryana

The Pro Kabaddi League Season 5 is past its halfway mark of the league stage and the seventh week is about to come to an end as the Haryana leg sees its penultimate day play out on Wednesday. The UP Yoddha take on the Tamil Thalaivas in the first encounter of the day while in the second, the Puneri Paltan take on table-topping Haryana Steelers.

The Paltan suffered a tough defeat at the hands of the Bengaluru Bulls in their previous encounter, losing out in a hard-fought match that could have gone either way. An umpiring error changed the course of the match in favour of the Bulls and they were a little shaky in defence, due to which the likes of Rohit Kumar and Ajay were able to create openings and score points.

The Pune side were without a key man during that match in the form of defender Girish Ernak, who has been one of the stalwarts in defence for the team. The left corner man has played eight matches so far this season, amassing a total of 23 tackle points and putting in some splendid performances.

However, he was not named on the teamsheet as the Paltan played their ninth match of the season. His presence at the back was sorely missed and it was unclear why the PKL veteran did not play against the Bulls.

As his side face the Haryana Steelers tonight, there is good news for fans as Ernak is all set to return to the starting lineup. Sources in the team management have confirmed to Sportskeeda that there are no injury concerns for the 26-year-old and that he is 100% fit. They have also confirmed he was rested in the previous game, keeping in mind the home leg.

The Paltan sit in fourth place on the Zone A table, having won six games and lost the three. However, they will fancy their chances of qualifying for the super playoffs, with more than half of their league games still left.