PKL 12: Puneri Paltan appoint Ashok Shinde as head strategist for upcoming Pro Kabaddi season

Ashok Shinde became part of the team’s coaching staff in the middle of last season.

The season 10 champions, Puneri Paltan, have appointed Ashok Shinde as the Head Strategist for the upcoming Pro Kabaddi League season 12 (PKL 12). He was inducted as the head coach in the middle of last season after BC Ramesh stepped down.

Shinde is a vital member of the Puneri team, having contributed significantly to the franchise’s success over the last decade.

Also Read: PKL 12: Puneri Paltan appoint Ajay Thakur as new head coach

Shinde sowed the seeds for Yuva Paltan Academy

After finishing last in the first two seasons, Puneri added Shinde to their setup, who helped them make it to the playoffs in the next two seasons. Before season five, Shinde proposed the idea of ​​creating an academy to pick talents, develop them, and sign them as new young players in the PKL. The Arjun Awardee has tasted success with this strategy for Air India and wanted to replicate it.

The men in orange created the academy, and the results were good, which resulted in them winning season 10. The best part was that, except Mohammadreza Shadloui, all six players who won the final were from the Yuva Paltan academy.

The franchise wanted to use the brain behind this on a larger scale, hence would have appointed him as Head Strategist.

Shinde will join hands with Ajay Thakur for season 12

Shinde’s first task will be to finalise the retention list and sign new players along with Ajay Thakur, who will serve as head coach alongside Ashok Shinde this year. They have already signed the defending corner duo of Rakesh and Sanjay Choudhary. Rakesh could be a backup for Gaurav Khatri in the left corner.

Sanjay could get a look in if they decide to release the likes of Aman Antil and Mohit Khaler. Ashok Shinde has devised multiple strategies and made such decisions in the past, which have resulted in unleashing new talents. It will be interesting to see which players from the Yuva Paltan academy join how the two-time finalists plan it up for the upcoming season.

Shinde emphasizes skills and raw talent, which he would like to shape to become quality players. His presence in the dugout would boost the confidence of their skipper, Aslam Inamdar, who himself was a find of Shinde. His unique mix of aggressive gameplay with methodical attack to keep players injury-free has worked wonders. The fans will be looking forward to Shinde’s tactics this season.

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