PKL 2025: Puneri Paltan reaping rewards of squad continuity and defensive strength
The first two days of the Delhi leg have underlined how impressive Puneri Paltan has been in the 12th season of the Pro Kabaddi League. It started with a 36-23 victory over Tamil Thalaivas to become the second team to seal its place in the top eight, before winning a thrilling tie-break against Dabang Delhi K.C. to leapfrog its opponents and jump to the top of the table.
Those results came on the back of a dream Chennai leg, where the side maintained a perfect record in its four matches. It has showcased impressive coordination in both its attack and defence, which could be due to the squad continuity it has enjoyed.
Aside from captain Aslam Inamdar, key players including Pankaj Mohite, Aditya Shinde, Gaurav Khatri, and Abinesh Nadarajan were all involved with the team in Season 11, while coach Ajay Thakur was also an assistant coach last year. This continuity is something Aslam has himself identified.
Speaking before the Chennai leg, the all-rounder said, “Every team gets new players, but there are plenty of teams that get a whole new team in the auction that aren’t able to do well on the mat because it takes time to get coordination and combinations on the mat. I think that this coordination for us comes from the Yuva Paltans, because we’re together for the full year there. I know about others, and they also know about me, and there is a good level of confidence in each other that makes the game easy for us. It’s been 4-5 years since we’ve been playing together.”
That squad continuity has paid rich dividends, particularly in defence. Puneri Paltans boasts the best defence in the league, having won the most tackle points and completed the most tackles in the league this season. Along with Aslam, Abinesh, Khatri, Vishal Bhardwaj, and Gurdeep Sangwan have been the mainstays in the backline, with Gurdeep the only new face joining the team.
The captain emphasised the importance of ensuring he was on the same wavelength as his other defenders when he said, “When we were in the preparation camp, it was very important for us to get that coordination. Vishal, Gaurav, Abinesh, and the likes had already been with us; only Gurdeep was new.”
In order to achieve this coordination amongst the defenders, the team has turned to novel techniques.
“What we used to do is that our left raiders, like me and Aditya Shinde, used to raid against him [Gurdeep]. If he could beat us, then I don’t think that there are too many fast raiders who can beat him. That’s how we developed the combination with him, and he also got to know how the team supports each other.”
All the talk of defensive strength, however, is not to suggest that the attack has been far behind. The tripartite raiding unit of Aslam, Mohite, and Shinde has been effective at accumulating points. Shinde, the junior in the trio, has stepped up as the team’s top scorer, while Mohite assumed the role of captain when Aslam was ruled out by injury in Chennai.
Aslam puts that effectiveness down to an easy chemistry between the three, especially with his deputy Mohite. “Pankaj and I have been together since we were very young in 2016; it’s coming up on 10 years now. We were together in Air India, in five or six India camps, we practised together in Yuva Paltan and Puneri Paltan for the full year, he’s even my room partner,” he said.
“We have a great bond, and it makes things easy because we listen to each other. We don’t have any ego. We can tell each other when we’re going for raids, and when not to go for raids, and that is special for us. So, with Aditya now, who is with us in Yuva Paltan as well, we’ve started to figure out a rotation for the match, and it’s easy,” he added.
With the wind in its sails and a well-rounded squad not short of options to make telling contributions, things are looking up for Puneri Paltan. With a spot in the top eight now confirmed, Aslam’s side will look to lean on its well-developed chemistry as crunch time approaches.
The interview was conducted on a media day with JioStar ahead of the Chennai leg.
Published on Oct 15, 2025