Ashan Kumar replaces Udhay Kumar as coach for Tamil Thalaivas

Udhay Kumar stepped down as coach due to a personal emergency.

J Udhay Kumar has stepped down as Tamil Thalaivas coach due to a personal emergency as stated by the southern franchise. Udhay Kumar was the third coach of Tamil Thalaivas after taking over from E. Baskaran in 2021. 

After taking over in season 8 as a full-time coach, Udhay Kumar built a young squad in the auctions. The team showed a lot of promise but due to the lack of experience, six matches were tied losing out a playoff spot. Tamil Thalaivas are the only side in the Pro Kabaddi League to not feature in the playoffs even once.

Included Pawan Sehrawat in the squad

Since season 8, Udhay Kumar has coached the side for 28 matches out of which he could register six wins, seven ties, and 15 losses. There were high expectations from Tamil Thalaivas in season 9 who had brought Pawan Sehrawat for whopping 2.26 crores but the star player got injured in the first game itself denting the playoffs chances at the start of the league.

Tamil Thalaivas after playing six matches are placed in the 11th position with ten points in the points table only ahead of Telugu Titans.

Ashan Kumar replaces Udhay Kumar as the coach and the former has a great experience in his coaching career. In 2021, Ashan Kumar was awarded the Dhronacharya Award (for coaching) after leading the Indian team multiple times.

Ashan has coached Puneri Paltans in the past and shall be a valuable addition to the Tamil Thalaivas outfit. He will be the fourth coach for the franchise after K.Baskaran, E. Baskaran, and Udhay Kumar. Ashan will have his task cut out after taking over the franchise in a critical situation.