Thalaivas’ Ajay to lead India

Ajay leads the side in the wake of Anup Kumar hanging his boots after the country’s triumph in the 2016 Kabaddi World Cup, Corner defender Surjeet Singh has been handed the role of Vice Captain. “I think it’s a good move and in many ways it’s the start of a new era with Ajay Thakur at the helm. There is a bit more responsibility on his (Ajay Thakur) shoulders and I feel it’s a very positive move,” Suhail Chandhok, PKL commentator, expressed his views on the baton being passed to Ajay Thakur. 

The squad is a good mixture of youth and experience with raiding sensations Pardeep Narwal and Rohit Kumar coming on the back of excellent PKL campaigns. Tamil Thalaivas duo of K Prapanjan and Thivakaran failed to make the final cut after attending the selection trials in Sonepat, Haryana. Some of the notable absentees in the squad include Manjeet Chillar, Dharmaraj Cheralathan and Vishal Mane. 

“It’s a young squad which looks well balanced. We have now come to a time where players are picked on current form and not on reputation,” added Suhail when queried about the squad selection. He also wanted the Indians to be vary of fellow title contender Iran as it could spring a surprise by unleashing a few youngsters.

Squad: Ajay Thakur (Captain), Surjeet Singh (Vice-Captain), Deepak Hooda, Mahendra Singh Dhaka, Maninder Singh, Mohit Chhillar, Nitin Tomar, Pardeep Narwal, Rahul Chaudhari, Rohit Kumar, Sachin, Sandeep Narwal, Surender Nada, Vishal Bharadwaj