Pro Kabaddi League 2023: List of released and retained players by Tamil Thalaivas

Modified Aug 11, 2023 09:16 IST

List of released and retained players by Tamil Thalaivas (image: Pro Kabaddi League)

Tamil Thalaivas has released the list of players they had retained ahead of the Pro Kabaddi League Season 10 auction in September.

Last year, Tamil Thalaivas surprised everyone with the record signing of Indian star raider Pawan Sehrawat. The franchise signed him for a whopping INR 2.26 crore, making him the most expensive player in the history of the Pro Kabaddi League. However, he was ruled out right after the first match of the season, after sustaining a knee injury.

Ahead of the auction, Tamil Thalaivas have released Pawan Sehrawat. Notably, the 27-year-old is fifth on the list of all-time raiding points. He has fetched 987 points from 105 matches in the Pro Kabaddi League. Tamil Thalaivas can still opt for the Indian raider through the Final Bid Match (FBM) during the auction.

The Tamil Thalaivas had a roller-coaster PKL 9 season. Initially, J Udaya Kumar was signed up as the coach, but he had to leave the franchise after six matches due to personal reasons. The veteran coach, Ashan Kumar, stepped in for the role.

He showed faith in youngsters, who had to take up the responsibility in the absence of Pawan Sehrawat. The youngsters lived up to expectations and helped the team qualify for the playoffs for the first time in the history of the Pro Kabaddi League.

Ashan Kumar, who has been retained as the coach until 2025, has opted to retain young stand-in captain Sagar, young raider Narender and the team's do-or-die specialist Ajinkya Pawar.

Ajinkya Pawar is the only elite player retained by the franchise. He has featured in 22 matches and has a total of 130 raid points, 11 tackle points in his career. In PKL 9, Ajinkya Pawar was one of the star performers for Tamil Thalaivas. Notably, against Telugu Titans, he completed a brilliant six-point raid during the dying moments of the match and helped Tamil Thalaivas win by 39-31.