PKL 11: Tamil Thalaivas' probable starting 7 for Pro Kabaddi 2024

Both departments of the team are looking very good this time.

Tamil Thalaivas, a team based out of Tamil Nadu, the birthplace of Kabaddi was introduced into the Pro Kabaddi League only in 2017. The team had immense star power when they launched with Cricket legend Sachin Tendulkar being the owner of the side. The 2016 Kabaddi World Cup-winning duo of Ajay Thakur and K. Baskaran was the first captain and coach of the team.

But the performances on the field were up to the mark. The team then hired the likes of Rahul Chaudhari and Manjeet Chillar, but the results remained the same. The team decided to invest in youth starting from Sagar Rathee in season eight, who finished the season second in the defenders tally. The addition of Narender Kandola and Sahil Gulia in the next season took them to their first-ever playoff.

Having retained them and the addition of a superstar, Tamil Thalaivas have got a great squad. Let’s look into the personnel in each position.

All-Round attacking raiders

Since their inception into the league, they always had a champion raider. But the missing piece was a quality second raider. Ajay Thakur was fighting a line battle in earlier seasons and Rahul Chaudhari was way out of his best when he arrived at the franchise. They hired Pawan Sehrawat only to lose him to an injury in the first 10 minutes of the season.

The duo of Ajinkya Pawar and Narender Kandola were doing the job, but a dominating force was missing as both being left-raiders and short were predictable. The Auction saw them pick Sachin Tanwar, one of the most consistent and dominating right raiders in the league.

With his presence, the do-or-die raid responsibilities will be taken over from Ajinkya. Himanshu Yadav, Vishal Chahal, and Moein Safaghi can share the duties.

Deadly defensive quartet

The men in yellow have retained their quartet of defense, and they will be playing together for the fourth consecutive season. Led by their Skipper Sagar Rathee who has been sensational at the right corner. He might be sleek but his ankle holds are as powerful as one can get in PKL.

On the other corner is Sahil Gulia whose scores of 30, 57, and 69 show how the right corner defender is improving his game. The cover positions are held by M. Abhishek and Mohit whose scores might not be great, but their aggression to go for dashes is an intent a coach would demand. If they can reduce their unforced errors in advanced tackles, then Thalaivas defense would be a tough nut to crack.

Tamil Thalaivas’ predicted starting seven for PKL 11:

Raiders – Sachin Tanwar, Narender Kandola and Vishal Chahal

Defenders – Sagar Rathee (Right Corner), Sahil Gulia (Left Corner), Abhishek M (Right Cover) and Mohit (Left Cover).

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