No change in Dabang Delhi captaincy, confirms Krishan Kumar Hooda

The outfit reached the final of PKL Season 7 under the leadership of Joginder Narwal.

Dabang Delhi are a strong outfit and one of the contenders for the title in the upcoming Pro Kabaddi League season. The franchise had a strong outing in the seventh season where they reached the final. However, they conceded defeat to Bengal Warriors and finished as runners-up in an electric encounter. They will look at the eighth season of the PKL with an ambition to finally lift the title. They are one of the teams who have never won the competition and will look to go one step further next season.

The auction for the upcoming season recently took place, where teams purchased players according to their requirements. Dabang Delhi also signed many notable players, with an aim to polish performances and fix problem areas. The auction was the perfect opportunity for the franchise to acquire the necessary firepower to go all the way next season.

They have brought in an experienced figure like Ajay Thakur from the auction. He has been a captain at both PKL and Indian national team level. He has leadership qualities like no other and will be a great addition to the team. There was discussion around the fact that his arrival would mean the end of Joginder Narwal’s captaincy.

Coach’s verdict on captaincy

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-pbqo6gGW4I&t=765s

However, Krishan Kumar Hooda, the head coach of Dabang Delhi has denied any possibility of a change of captaincy. He emphasized on Joginder remaining captain in an exclusive conversation with Khel Now. “There is no issue regarding the captaincy in the team. Joginder Narwal is a senior player and Ajay Thakur has earned several accolades in his career. I am not in favour of changing the captain of the team,” he said.

Dabang Delhi have many experienced figures in the team who will represent them next season. Players like Joginder Narwal, Ajay Thakur, Jeeva Kumar and Manjeet Chillar are indispensable parts of the team. This could lead to a clash of ideas and opinions on the mat. However, Hooda denied any possibility of conflict. 

He further said, “The captaincy is not a topic of discussion for the players. They have to do their jobs, whether it's in the capacity of a squad player or a captain. Players have faith in me and I have faith in them. There was never an issue regarding captaincy before, nor there will never be one in future. Nobody will have any objections to Joginder Narwal as the captain of the team.”

No harm without Ravinder Pahal’s presence 

Dabang Delhi had released an important defender like Ravinder Pahal ahead of the auction. He became the second player to score 300+ tackle points during the seventh edition of the competition. He made 63 tackle points in 23 matches, but still got released by Dabang Delhi. According to Hooda, the team will not suffer from Pahal’s absence.

In this regard he said, “Dabang Delhi will not feel the absence of Ravinder Pahal because we have got Sandeep Narwal in the auction. Pahal was an exceptional player, but Sandeep Narwal is equally talented and out team is very strong.”

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