Tamil Thalaivas
The professional Pro Kabaddi League team, Tamil Thalaivas was introduced for the first time in 2017 and since then, it has been an active participant in the PKL. The Tamil Thalaivas team is based in Chennai, which is the capital of Tamil Nadu.
Ajay Thakur, who was the captain of the Indian Kabaddi Team, was the star player of this team. While debuting alongside teams like UP Yoddha, Haryana Steeler and Gujarat Giants, Tamil Thalaivas have not been able to come across any major success so far. The farthest Tamil Thalaivas team reached was the 6th position in the fifth and sixth seasons of the Pro Kabaddi League.
Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium is the home stadium of Tamil Thalaivas with a seating capacity of 8000 people. Currently, the team is being coached by J Udaya Kumar. Tamil Thalaivas shares its turf with Chennaiyin FC, which is the team of the Indian Super League.
| Full Name | Tamil Thalaivas |
| Nick Name | Thalaivas |
| Founded | 2017 |
| Ground | Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium (Chennai), Tamil Nadu |
| Team Owner(s) | Sachin Tendulkar and Nimmagadda Prasad |
| Captain | Pawan Kumar Sehrawat |
| Coach | J Udaya |
Table of Content
Tamil Thalaivas Team History
The 2017 and 2018-19 editions of the Pro Kabaddi league witnessed the inclusion of 4 new franchises in the league and Tamil Thalaivas squad is one of them. This Tamil kabaddi team made their debut in 2017 and represents the city of Chennai. Tamil Thalaivas team plays the home games at Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium in Chennai.
Tamil Thalaivas Owners
This Tamil Kabaddi team owners are none other than the confederation called Magnum Sports Ventures Pvt Ltd which is a parent company of Kerala Blasters FC from the Indian Super League (ISL). Tamil Thalaivas owners include the industrialist Mr. Nimmagadda Prasad, Indian film stars, Chiranjeevi as well as Allu Arvind, an Indian Film Producer, with Mr. Nikhil Bhardwaj, co-owner, at the helm of the day-to-day operations of the club.
Tamil Thalaivas: Stats
Tamil Thalaivas is owned by Nimmagadda Prasad, who is an industrialist, along with Sachin Tendulkar (legend of Indian cricket). Although the team tried their best to develop and enhance their game in every way possible, they have not been successful in making a mark on the PKL so far.
To put things into perspective, the past performances of Tamil Thalaivas have degraded over the years. Recently, Tamil Thalaivas bought Pawan Sherawat with above Rs. 2 crore price tag. In the 2019 and 2021-22 seasons, the Thalaivas finished the league in 12th and 11th positions, respectively.
Team Stats of Tamil Thalaivas in PKL All Editions
| Year | Total matches played | Matches won | Matches lost | Draw | Final result |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2017 | 22 | 6 | 14 | 2 | 6th position |
| 2018 | 22 | 5 | 13 | 4 | 6th position |
| 2019 | 22 | 4 | 15 | 3 | 12th position |
| 2021 | 22 | 5 | 11 | 6 | 11th position |
Tamil Thalaivas PKL 2022 Schedule
| Date | Day | Match | Venue |
|---|---|---|---|
| 8 October, 2022 | Saturday | Gujarat Giants vs Tamil Thalaivas | Shree Kanteerava Indoor Stadium, Bengaluru |
| 11 October, 2022 | Tuesday | Haryana Steeler vs Tamil Thalaivas | Shree Kanteerava Indoor Stadium, Bengaluru |
| 14 October, 2022 | Friday | Tamil Thalaivas vs U Mumba | Shree Kanteerava Indoor Stadium, Bengaluru |
| 17 October, 2022 | Monday | Tamil Thalaivas vs Patna Pirates | Shree Kanteerava Indoor Stadium, Bengaluru |
| 19 October, 2022 | Wednesday | Bengaluru Bulls vs Tamil Thalaivas | Shree Kanteerava Indoor Stadium, Bengaluru |
| 23 October, 2022 | Sunday | U.P. Yoddhas vs Tamil Thalaivas | Shree Kanteerava Indoor Stadium, Bengaluru |
| 28 October, 2022 | Friday | Tamil Thalaivas vs Jaipur Pink Panthers | Shree Shivchhatrapati Sports Complex, Balewadi, Pune |
| 30 October, 2022 | Sunday | Tamil Thalaivas vs Dabang Delhi K.C. | Shree Shivchhatrapati Sports Complex, Balewadi, Pune |
| 2 November, 2022 | Wednesday | Bengal Warriors vs Tamil Thalaivas | Shree Shivchhatrapati Sports Complex, Balewadi, Pune |
| 5 November, 2022 | Saturday | Tamil Thalaivas vs Telugu Titans | Shree Shivchhatrapati Sports Complex, Balewadi, Pune |
| 6 November, 2022 | Sunday | Puneri Paltan vs Tamil Thalaivas | Shree Shivchhatrapati Sports Complex, Balewadi, Pune |
Tamil Thalaivas Squad
The Pro Kabaddi League 2022 starts this Friday in Bengaluru and is set to hit the field across three cities in the country, Bengaluru, Hyderabad and Pune. Tamil Thalaivas have acquired and selected the following players to compete in the 9th season of the Pro Kabaddi League 2022:
| Player name | Country | Position |
|---|---|---|
| Pawan Sehrawat | India | Raider |
| Ajinkya Pawar | India | Raider |
| Himanshu | India | Raider |
| Himanshu Singh | India | Raider |
| Narendar | India | Raider |
| Jatin | India | Raider |
| Ankit | India | Defender |
| M. Abhishek | India | Defender - Right Cover |
| Himanshu | India | Defender - Left Corner |
| Sagar | India | Defender - Right Corner |
| Arpit Saroha | India | Defender - Right Corner |
| Aashish | India | Defender - Left Cover |
| Mohit | India | Defender - Left Cover |
| Sahil Gulia | India | Defender - Left Corner |
| Md. Arif Rabbani | Bangladesh | Defender - Left Corner |
| K. Abhimanyu | India | All-Rounder |
| Vishvanath V. | India | All-Rounder |
| Thanushan Laxmamohan | Sri Lanka | All-Rounder |
Best Performers of Tamil Thalaivas in Past Seasons
Ajay Thakur
Ajay Thakur was one of the top-performing players for Tamil Thalaivas since the team’s arrival in the Pro Kabaddi League, Ajay Thakur has been the face of the entire team due to its overwhelming presence and performance in the field. Ajay is a running hand touch specialist and has scored 474 raid points in total across three seasons.
In the first two seasons, Ajay’s performance was simply phenomenal, but he wasn’t able to receive enough support from the other Tamil Thalaivas team members. In the 7th season of PKL, Ajay’s performance came across a steady decline, and he was able to get 58 points in 13 matches.
Amit Hooda
The second-best player in the history of Tamil Thalaivas is Amit Hooda. In the initial two seasons of the Pro Kabaddi League, Hooda was the finest defender in the Tamil Thalaivas team. His personal record includes a total of six High 5s and 110 tackle points across two seasons.
Rahul Chaudhari
Rahul Chaudhari is another fine player and a successful raider of the Tamil Thalaivas team. In season seven of the Pro Kabaddi League, he was able to attain the 11th position on the entire raider’s leaderboard and at the same time, he was the most successful raider of Tamil Thalaivas scoring 130 raid points in the entire season.
V. Ajith Kumar and K Prapanjan
The next positions are equally shared by V. Ajith Kumar and K Prapanjan, who are apt at the third raider’s role. These two youngsters were phenomenal in season seven of the PKL. In 19 matches, Ajith was able to score 121 raid points, whereas K Prapanjan received 123 raid points after playing 22 matches. Ajith also scored a lot of super 10s.
Strength and Weaknesses of the Tamil Thalaivas Team
Strengths of Tamil Thalaivas
As Tamil Thalaivas enter the 9th season of the Pro Kabaddi League, they will be quite eager to enhance their performances throughout the tournament. The Thalaivas have not been able to reach the playoffs in the tournament’s history even once. In this season, they have strengthened their attack by purchasing Pawan Sehrawat for Rs 2.26 crore.
Pawan is a star Kabaddi player and has the capability to win matches on his own. With the help of Pawan and a young team, Tamil Thalaivas is looking forward to competing for the top.
Weaknesses of Tamil Thalaivas
No depth in the defense
Although Tamil Thalaivas have spent a significant amount of money on buying Pawan Sehrawat, they have simultaneously missed the opportunity to enhance their overall defense. The team have retained Sagar, who showed good performance last season but apart from him, they lack any experienced defender. Without a strong defense, Tamil Thalaivas can land into trouble during the tournament.
No availability of experienced all-rounders
Tamil Thalaivas currently has a total of three all-rounders in their team. Two of them are from India and one is from Sri Lanka. However, these three all-rounders do have any Pro Kabaddi League experience.
Although in every season, new players have always tended to make their mark in the game, experience is equally important, especially during playoffs. The team hopes to rely on these new players who must certainly contribute to the game.
Latest News & Updates
As mentioned earlier, Pawan Sehrawat created a record by breaching the Rs. 2 crore mark and becoming the most expensive player in the history of the Pro Kabaddi League. With the new addition of a star raider and young players, Tamil Thalaivas will try their best and contest for the title.
Tamil Thalaivas FAQs
The ninth season of the Pro Kabaddi League is beginning in October and Tamil Thalaivas will be playing their first game against Gujrat Giants. Whether Tamil Thalaivas can win the PKL season, it will only depend on their consistent performance throughout the entire season.
Although Tamil Thalaivas entered the Pro Kabaddi League in its fifth season, it has not been able to gain much success since then. In the fifth and sixth seasons, Tamil Thalaivas were placed at 6 positions, whereas in the last two seasons, their performance has not been noteworthy.