Pro Kabaddi League 2017 Season 5: Legendary actor Kamal Haasan becomes brand ambassador of Tamil Thalaivas

The Pro Kabaddi League Season 5 is all set to start on July 28 and will be the largest franchise-based competition of its kind in India. It will feature a total of 12 teams from 11 states contesting nearly 140 matches in a span of three months - a scale our nation has never seen before.

Four more teams have been added this time around from Season 4 and one of them is the Chennai-based Tamil Thalaivas side, who will be led by star raider and World Cup winner Ajay Thakur. The team is essentially a youthful one, with many talented youngsters such as C Arun and Amit Hooda, along with various players from the state of Tamil Nadu itself.

In the wee hours of Tuesday night, the team officially announced that legendary actor Kamal Haasan will join the team as its brand ambassador. He will thus become the second popular national figure along with cricketer Sachin Tendulkar to be associated with the team, with the Master Blaster already a co-owner of the franchise.

Namma Ulaga Nayagan Dr. @ikamalhaasan joins us as the Brand Ambassador in our grand entry into @ProKabaddi season 5 #NammaMannuNammaGame pic.twitter.com/K7yR15RdQS

— Tamil Thalaivas (@tamilthalaivas) July 18, 2017

A statement from the team stated, "It was a unanimous decision that was made to bring on board Mr. Kamal Haasan as the brand ambassador of Tamil Thalaivas for the Pro Kabaddi League Season 5. His love for sports is evident not only in his movies but in life as well."

It also praised Haasan's love and passion for the state of Tamil Nadu and called him a 'fighter' and 'go-getter', which made him the ideal pick for the role. N. Prasad, who is also the co-owner of the team along with Tendulkar, said that he has always admired the actor for his perseverance and humility during testing times.

The statement also features quotes from Haasan, where he talks about how he takes pride in being associated with the sport of kabaddi and a team from his own state. He also spoke about how kabaddi started in India thousands of years ago and is now popular all in other countries as well.

The team from Tamil Nadu will play their first ever PKL match in Nagpur on August 4, after the Bengaluru leg was shifted to the city. They will take on the Bulls in what promises to be an enticing match, given that their captain Ajay Thakur is an ex-player of the team himself.