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Puneri Paltan after a poor start in PKL are one of the most consistent teams of PKL recently reaching the playoffs in each of the last 3 seasons. During the 5 PKL seasons, Puneri Paltan has seen a number of players turn out for them which have helped transform their fortunes from a bottom-placed team to serious challengers.
The likes of Manjeet Chhillar, Ajay Thakur, Deepak Hooda, Surjeet Singh, Nitin Tomar, Joginder Narwal, Ravinder Pahal Sandeep Narwal and Girish Ernak are just few of the big names who have worn the orange jersey and would make an all-time Puneri Paltan team almost impossible to beat on paper but in this article we take a look at 5 players among the galaxy of stars who made the most impact for Puneri Paltan in PKL.
#5 Manjeet Chhillar
Mighty Manjeet was roped in by Puneri Paltan’s new management in a revamp of the team after 2 bottom placed finishes in PKL 1 and 2. The arrival of PKL’s “one-man army” had the desired effect as Manjeet led Puneri Paltan to consecutive 3rd place finishes in PKL 3 and 4.
Mighty Manjeet was Puneri Paltan’s best defender and also arguably the best defender in PKL 3 scoring 61 tackle points, the most by any player that season. His importance to the team can be highlighted by the fact that in PKL 4 Pune was cruising towards qualification to the semi-finals, Manjeet got injured with 5 matches to go Pune needed just 1 win to secure qualification but without their talismanic captain Pune lost 4 matches and needed a win against Bengaluru Bulls to reach the semi-finals where Manjeet led from the front scoring 11 tackle points helping Pune to a win, his 11 tackle points was the PKL record for the most tackle points in.
#4 Wazir Singh
In a dismal period for Puneri Paltan where they barely competed and finished bottom it is easy to forget Wazir Singh’s contribution during that period from PKL 1 to PKL 2. Wazir was almost a one-man army for Puneri Paltan and any Pune win was on the back of a big contribution from Wazir Singh.
Despite having no support Wazir top-scored in each of his 2 seasons. He scored 104 raid points in PKL 1 all their other main raiders combined scored almost the same number. The experienced raider scored 169 raid points in the first 2 PKL seasons and was 6th among raiders in raid points scored despite playing in a struggling team further highlighting his quality.
#3 Girish Ernak
Puneri Paltan’s capture of Girish Maruti Ernak went somewhat under the radar given his below-par performances for Bengal Warriors in PKL 4. It was even thought that Girish Ernak might be an expensive bench warmer for Puneri Paltan given the presence of stalwarts like Sandeep Narwal and Dharmaraj Cheralathan.
But the Maharashtra defender defied critics with a string of brilliant performances. The left corner’s vice-like ankle holds proved impossible for the raiders to escape. Girish Ernak cemented his place and his fine performances kept the likes of Dharmaraj Cheralathan out of the starting 7 which is no mean feat.
Girish always had talent but was guilty of rash tackles but in the orange of Pune, he found the consistency and level-headedness which had eluded him. His brilliant performances saw him retained for the upcoming PKL season.
#2 Deepak Hooda
Deepak Niwas Hooda also joined the Puneri Paltan revamp after playing a starry role in Telugu Titans 3rd place finish in PKL 2. The dashing all-rounder continued where he left off for impressing for Puneri Paltan with his raiding skills.
He scored 69 raid points and was the highest scoring raider for the Paltan. In PKL 4 he took the leap from a promising player to one of the best in the business scoring 126 raid points, only Pardeep Narwal and Rahul Chaudhari scored more in PKL 4.
The left raider’s brilliant performances meant he was retained ahead the giants of the game like Manjeet Chhillar and Ajay Thakur and Deepak repaid the Pune management’s decision by once again leading Puneri Paltan’s raiding single-handedly scoring 172 raid points 82 more than the next best Pune player.
#1 Ajay Thakur
Current Indian national team captain Ajay Thakur along with Manjeet Chhillar also switched from Bengaluru Bulls to Puneri Paltan after PKL 2. The tall and lanky Ajay was already regarded as one of the best in the business and he continued his exploits for Puneri Paltan.
The soft-spoken raider was one of the vital cogs in Puneri Paltan’s back to back 3rd place finishes in PKL 3 and 4 which helped to eradicate their status as one of the league’s underachievers to one of the consistent teams of PKL.
The Himachal native will always be remembered fondly by the Puneri Paltan fans after his brilliant performance in the “Maharashtrian Derby” in PKL 4 which included 3 super raids gave Puneri Paltan their first win in 4 seasons in the Derby.
