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Tamil Thalaivas ended their streak of finishing in the bottom 2 of the Pro Kabaddi points table by qualifying for the PKL 9 playoffs. The Chennai-based franchise achieved enormous success under new coach Ashan Kumar as they narrowly missed out on a berth in the final.
Last season, the Tamil Thalaivas had some big names like Surjeet Singh, Manjeet Dahiya and K Prapanjan in the squad. However, they finished 11th in the standings only above the Telugu Titans.
The Thalaivas made some massive changes to their squad ahead of PKL 9. They released their star players from the last season and splurged ₹2.26 crore to rope in the league's top raider Pawan Sehrawat. Unfortunately for the Thalaivas, Pawan was injured in the first match and missed all the remaining games.
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Still, the young blood of the Tamil Thalaivas team gave the other 11 franchises a run for their money and realized the fans' dream of seeing the Chennai-based franchise in the PKL 9 playoffs. The Thalaivas won the first Tiebreaker of Pro Kabaddi history against UP Yoddhas in Eliminator 2. However, they suffered a close defeat in the semi-final clash against Puneri Paltan.
It was an excellent season for the Thalaivas, and we will now look at the positives and negatives of their campaign.
#1 Thing that went right - Appointment of new coach
Tamil Thalaivas' head coach J Udaya Kumar left the team after the first few league matches of Pro Kabaddi 2022. The Chennai-based franchise roped in Ashan Kumar as his replacement. The new coach made an instant impact as the Thalaivas looked a completely different outfit under his guidance.
Before Ashan Kumar took over as the head coach, the Thalaivas had managed only one win in six matches. After his arrival, the Chennai-based franchise recorded nine wins in 13 games and stormed into the playoffs.
Choosing the right coach when the team was in a crunch situation was the best decision made by the owners of Tamil Thalaivas.
#2 Thing that went right - Retaining the youngsters
As mentioned ahead, the Thalaivas released their star players before the new season but retained their young players. Their retention list featured the likes of Sagar Rathee, Narender Kandola, Ajinkya Pawar, Himanshu, Abishek M, Mohit Jakhar and Sahil Gulia.
All the aforementioned names played a match-winning role for the Thalaivas this season. Narender Kandola took the Best New Young Player of the Tournament award home after scoring more than 200 raid points.
#1 Thing that went wrong - Injuries in the Tamil Thalaivas team
Tamil Thalaivas made it to the playoffs of Pro Kabaddi 2022 even though their best raider Pawan Sehrawat was ruled out in the first match of the competition. The team's best defender Sagar Rathee played 17 matches and missed the final phase of the tournament.
Sagar and Pawan were also the two leaders of the team. Their injuries were the only thing that went wrong for the Thalaivas this season. Had the two players been available throughout the tournament, the Chennai-based franchise could have made it beyond the semi-finals.
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