"I won't say Tamil Thalaivas have become stronger just because they have Pawan Sehrawat" – Star raider talks about his team's chances of winning Pro Kabaddi 2022

Tamil Thalaivas captain Pawan Sehrawat is optimistic about his team's chances of winning Pro Kabaddi Season 9. According to him, the raiding and defensive units of the team have become better ahead of PKL 2022.

In an exclusive interview with Sportskeeda ahead of Pro Kabaddi 2022, Tamil Thalaivas skipper Pawan Sehrawat shed light on his team's preparations for the tournament.

When asked if the team's raiding unit had become stronger with his arrival, Sehrawat said:

"I won't say that Tamil Thalaivas have become stronger just because they have Pawan Sehrawat. If you compare with the last season, I think the defense is doing quite well. So I would say that both raiding and defense look stronger. It is not that our team will number one in just raiding, our team will be up on the points table as well."

Tamil Thalaivas finished 11th in the points table last season with five wins, six ties and 11 losses from 22 matches. They played the highest number of tied matches among all 12 teams. Victories in those close games could have helped the Chennai-based franchise end the tournament a little higher in the standings.

To ensure that the team performs better in such situations, the coaches have been training the players for the crunch moments.

"In my view, from what I have seen in the practice camp so far, the defense has improved a lot. Coaches and team management have worked very hard for that. In the last season, we played many tied matches, so we are continuously working on improving our game in the crunch moments," Sehrawat added.

"They will have high hopes from me" – Pawan Sehrawat after earning ₹2.26 crore at the Pro Kabaddi 2022 Auction

Pawan Sehrawat further discussed how he felt after becoming the first player in PKL history to earn a contract worth more than ₹2 crore. While some would have thought of how to use that money, Sehrawat started focusing on his team's composition straightaway.

"The first thing which came to my mind was that Tamil Thalaivas have signed me for such a big amount so I will have to perform well for this team. If they have invested so much money, they will have high hopes from me to help the team win. As soon as they signed me, I started thinking about the team structure and how I can help them win."

It will be interesting to see if Tamil Thalaivas can make it to the Pro Kabaddi playoffs under Sehrawat's captaincy.