PKL 12: Puneri Paltan head coach Ajay Thakur speaks on captain Aslam Inamdar's impact

Puneri Paltan sit at the top of the PKL 12 standings.

Puneri Paltan reclaimed the top spot in the Pro Kabaddi League 12 (PKL 12) standings with their fifth win of the season against the Telugu Titans in Jaipur.

Ajay Thakur’s side executed a well-worked team performance with all the players putting in a match-winning performance. Skipper Aslam Inamdar and Gaurav Khatri notched up seven points each while Vishal Bharadwaj recorded six tackle points to guide Puneri Paltan to a 39-33 win in PKL 12.

Aslam Inamdar's Puneri Paltan moves to top of the points table by defeating Telugu Titans 🔥#PKL | #PKL12 | #ProKabaddiLeague | #Kabaddi | #PKLSeason12 | #ProKabaddi pic.twitter.com/xnKaRqnDly

— Khel Kabaddi (@KhelNowKabaddi) September 13, 2025

After the game, representatives from both teams addressed the media.

Puneri Paltan 

Winning strategy

Puneri Paltan head coach Ajay Thakur shared his side’s winning strategy and said, “We wanted more time to play cool and comfortably because that was beneficial for us because time also has to be spared, and along with the points, we also have to pay attention to the time.”

“We were already in the lead, so we did not need the points, but Telugu Titans did. So, I told the players that we will play defensively and play on a do-or-die raid,” he added.

Maharashtrian derby

Ajay Thakur spoke about the upcoming Maharashtrian derby against U Mumba.

“Both these teams have a huge fan following. So it will be a good match because Mumbai’s defence is very good. Whenever we watch their match, their captain, Sunil Kumar, is the last one to get out. He plays with a lot of patience.”

“But the match is with Puneri Paltan because Puneri Paltan has Aslam Honest. Aslam himself is the face of Maharashtra. I am a fan of Sunil as a Captain and also of Aslam, and it will be an equal competition for both.” 

Aslam Inamdar as a captain

Ajay Thakur praised captain Aslam Inamdar for leading the side with perfection and said, “I have never seen it until he played for me now. I always tell my guru, Ashok Shinde, that I have seen a player who does not play for himself at all. He scored nine points by halftime, but after halftime, he did not make even a single raid.”

“Otherwise, when we used to play, we used to think that at least there was a point. Let’s do Super 10. But I had never seen him doing it. So what more can one ask for than this? If a coach has a player who doesn’t play for himself and plays for the team, then there is no doubt that he will play well.”

Gaurav Khatri and Vishal Bharadwaj’s performance

The head coach also shared his views on the performance of his talismanic defensive duo and said, “There is no doubt that Gaurav Khatri is very young and Vishal Bhardwaj has experience of the last 10 years. “

“Vishal is such an experienced player who has played for the Indian team and has won a gold medal in the Asian Games. So you expect such a player to play well, even today. I think he made about six tackles and two against the raiders, like Bharat Hooda and Vijay Malik.”

Telugu Titans 

What went wrong?

Telugu Titans head coach Krishan Kumar Hooda spoke about what went wrong for his side.

“The overall performance was not great, and I cannot say anything about one person. Neither the team’s defence nor the offence played as per our expectations. We will be fully prepared and will try our 100% to win the next match,” he said.

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