Wikipedia

Tamil Thalaivas

Tamil Thalaivas is an Indian professional kabaddi franchise based in Chennai, Tamil Nadu. The team competes in the Pro Kabaddi League and was added as one of the four additional franchises when the league was expanded in 2017. The team plays its home matches at the Jawaharlal Nehru Indoor Stadium in Chennai and is owned by Magnum Sports.

Tamil Thalaivas
Full nameTamil Thalaivas
SportKabaddi
Founded2017
First season2017
Last season2023-24
LeaguePKL
Based inChennai, Tamil Nadu
StadiumJawaharlal Nehru Stadium, Chennai
Colours  
AnthemNamma Mannu Namma Velayattu
OwnerMagnum Sports
Head coachJ. Udayakumar
CaptainSagar Rathee
Playoff berths1
Websitetamilthalaivas.co.in

The franchise has qualified for the play-offs only once in the 2022 season. The team is currently captained by Sagar Rathee and is coached by J. Udayakumar.

Background

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The Pro Kabaddi League was conceived as a franchise-based kabaddi tournament, based on the success of the Indian Premier League cricket tournament. Its first season was held in 2014 with eight teams.[1][2] In March 2017, the league announced the addition of four more team for the upcoming fifth season, one of which was based in Tamil Nadu.[3][4] Kabaddi is the state game of Tamil Nadu.[5][6] The team is owned by Magnum sports.[7]

History

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Early years (2017–20)

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The franchise was named as "Tamil Thalaivas", ahead of the start of the fifth season.[8][9] In the auction for the 2017 season, Thalaivas picked up then India national kabaddi team captain Ajay Thakur for ₹6.93 million (US$83,000) and defender Amit Hooda for ₹6.3 million (US$75,000).[10][11] The teams were divided into two zones with the Thalaivas placed in zone B and each team played 15 intra-zonal matches and 7 inter-zonal matches.[12] The team registered their first win against the Bengaluru Bulls on 10 August.[13] The team finished bottom of the table with six wins from 22 matches and failed to advance to the play-offs.[14]

The team retained four players including Ajay Thakur and Amit Hooda ahead of the auction for the 2018-19 season. The franchise also bought Sukesh Hegde, Darshan and Manjeet Chillar in the auction.[15] E Bhaskaran replaced Kasinatha Baskaran as the head coach.[16] The team had another disappointing season and finished bottom of zone B with just five wins.[17] Following the poor season, coach Bhaskaran stepped down and was replaced by J. Udayakumar.[18]

Ahead of the 2019 season, Thalaivas retained three players including Ajay Thakur and Manjeet Chhillar. In the auction, the franchise bought Rahul Chaudhari for ₹9.4 million (US$110,000) and seven other players.[19] Despite the presence of star raiders in Thakur and Chaudhari, the team won only four matches and finished bottom of the table with 37 points.[20]

Moving up the table and first play-offs (2021-2023)

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The next season was delayed till December 2021 due to Covid-19 pandemic.[21] In the auction, the Thalaivas picked up raiders Manjeet, Prapanjan and defender Surjeet Singh for a combined ₹23.8 million (US$290,000).[22] However, the team had another poor season and finished 11th amongst the 12 teams with five wins and 47 points.[23]

Ahead of the 2022 season, the team bought Indian captain and top raider Pawan Sehrawat for ₹26 million (US$310,000).[24] However, Sehrawat had an ACL injury in the first match and was ruled out of the entire season.[25] The team won only one match in the first six matches, which led to the sacking of the head coach Udayakumar and Ashan Kumar was appointed as the new coach of the team.[26] The team had a revival in form and finished with ten wins from 22 matches. With a fifth place finish, the team qualified for the play-offs for the first time.[26][27] The team won the first eliminator against the UP Yoddha in extra time before losing to eventual champions Puneri Paltan in the semifinals by a score of 37-39.[28]

The team released Sehrawat before the auctions but retained most of the other players. The franchise bought only four players at the auction before the 2023-24 season.[29] The team score nine wins but failed to advance to the playoffs after finishing in ninth place.[30] The highlight of the season was the 74-37 win over the Bengal Warriors on 18 February 2024. Multiple records were broken in the match including the most points scored (111) in a single match and the most number of all-outs (6).[31]

Later years (2024-present)

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Ahead of the 2024 season, Ashan Kumar was replaced by J. Udhayakumar as the head coach and Dharmaraj Cheralathan was appointed as the strategy coach.[32] The team retained core players from the previous season and bought Sachin Tanwar for ₹21.5 million (US$260,000) in the auction.[33] Sagar Rathee was retained as the captain of the team.[34]

Ground

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The Thalaivas play their home matches at the Jawaharalal Nehru indoor stadium in Chennai. The stadium is owned by the Government of Tamil Nadu and has a capacity of 8000.[35][36]

Sponsors

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Season Kit manufacturer Main sponsor Back sponsor Sleeve sponsor
2017 Admiral Muthoot Maha Cement Agni Devices
2018 Orbit Cables Valvoline Asian Paints
2019 Kaizen Sports Celon Labs —
2021-22 Trak-Only[37] Parimatch News[38] Iodex Nippon Paint[39]
2022 DafaNews[40] Kajaria
2023-24 1xBat[41] Kick-EV
2024 Shiv-Naresh MyMaster11[42] Freemans[42]

Players

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Current squad

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Tamil Thalaivas squad[43][44][45]
No. Name Nationality Position
13 Sagar Rathee     India Defender - Right Corner
Sachin Tanwar   India Raider
8 Narender   India Raider
Vishal Chahal   India Raider
Ramkumar Mayandi   India Raider
Nitin Singh   India Raider
Sourabh Fagare   India Raider
Dhiraj Balimare   India Raider
66 Chandran Ranjith   India Raider
Masanamuthu Lakshmanan   India Raider
7 Abishek Manokaran   India Defender - Right Cover
9 Himanshu   India All-rounder
Aashish   India Defender - Left Cover
10 Mohit   India Defender - Left Cover
Sahil Gulia   India Defender - Left Corner
Amirhossein Bastami   Iran Defender
Ronak   India Defender - Right Cover
Nitesh Kumar   India Defender - Left Corner
Anuj Gawade   India Defender - Left Cover
Moein Safaghi   Iran Defender

Administration

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Updated: 1 October 2024[45][32]

  • Shushen Vashishth, CEO
  • J. Udayakumar, Head coach
  • Dharmaraj Cheralathan, Strategy coach

Head coaches

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Name Nationality From To
K. Baskaran   India 2017 2018
E. Baskaran   India 2018 2019
J. Udayakumar   India 2021 2022
Ashan Kumar   India 2022 2024
J. Udayakumar   India 2024 Current

Records

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Updated:1 October 2024[46]

Seasons Total Wins Tied Losses % Win Position
Season 5 22 6 2 14 27.27% 6
Season 6 22 5 4 13 22.72% 6
Season 7 22 4 3 15 18.18% 12
Season 8 22 5 6 11 22.72% 11
Season 9 22 10 4 7 45.45% 5
Season 10 22 9 0 13 40.90% 9

By opposition

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Updated:1 October 2024[47]

Opposition Played Won Lost Drawn % Win
Bengal Warriors 13 2 10 1 15.38%
Bengaluru Bulls 14 3 11 0 21.42%
Dabang Delhi 9 2 5 2 22.22%
Gujarat Fortune Giants 9 3 5 1 33.33%
Haryana Steelers 11 2 6 3 18.18%
Jaipur Pink Panthers 9 2 5 2 22.22%
Patna Pirates 14 4 7 3 28.57%
Puneri Paltan 10 3 5 2 30.0%
Telugu Titans 14 8 5 1 57.14%
U Mumba 10 2 7 1 20.0%
UP Yoddha 14 6 5 3 42.85%
Total 127 37 71 19 29.13%

References

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  1. ^ "Kabaddi gets the IPL treatment". BBC News. 6 August 2014. Archived from the original on 6 March 2021. Retrieved 22 October 2016.
  2. ^ "Kabaddi deserves a league of its own: Anand Mahindra". The Economic Times. 10 April 2014. Archived from the original on 2 June 2021. Retrieved 25 April 2018.
  3. ^ "Four new franchises make Pro Kabaddi 12-team league". Business Standard. 29 March 2017. Retrieved 1 June 2024.
  4. ^ "Pro Kabaddi League Teams". Pro Kabaddi League. Archived from the original on 27 August 2023. Retrieved 23 August 2023.
  5. ^ siddharth (31 December 2016). "Kabaddi Introduction, Rules, Information, History & Competitions". Sportycious. Archived from the original on 14 August 2020. Retrieved 28 January 2020.
  6. ^ Li, Ming; MacIntosh, Eric W.; Bravo, Gonzalo A. (2012). International Sport Management. Ming Li, Eric W. MacIntosh, Gonzalo A. Bravo. p. 106. ISBN 978-0-736-08273-0.
  7. ^ "Tamil Thalaivas Team 2023: Squad, Players, Captain, Owner and Match Schedule". Jagran Josh. 2 December 2023. Retrieved 1 June 2024.
  8. ^ "Chennai franchise named Tamil Thalaivas for pro kabaddi league season 5". The Indian Express. 20 June 2017. Retrieved 20 June 2017.
  9. ^ "Tamil Thalaivas franchise squad announcement in pro kabaddi league season 5". Times of India. 30 June 2017. Retrieved 30 June 2017.
  10. ^ "Who went where and for how much, Nitin Tomar to Team UP for Rs 93 lakh, Rohit Kumar to Bengaluru Bulls for Rs 81 lakh". The Indian Express. 2 June 2017. Retrieved 1 June 2024.
  11. ^ "Top 5 players who justified their price tag". Pro Kabaddi League. 27 December 2017. Retrieved 1 June 2024.
  12. ^ "Tamil Thalaivas pro kabaddi league season 5 beginning". The Hindustan Times. 19 June 2017. Retrieved 19 June 2017.
  13. ^ "Tamil Thalaivas registered their first win of the season". The Hindustan Times. 10 August 2017. Retrieved 10 August 2017.
  14. ^ "Pro Kabaddi League 2017: Points Table, Team Standings". The Indian Express. Retrieved 1 June 2024.
  15. ^ "PKL Season 6 auctions: Full list of players bought and their bids". ESPN. 30 May 2018. Retrieved 1 June 2024.
  16. ^ "Thalaivas name E Bhaskaran as head coach". The Times of India. 16 April 2018. Retrieved 1 June 2024.
  17. ^ "Pro Kabaddi League 2018: Points Table, Team Standings". The Times of India. Retrieved 1 June 2024.
  18. ^ "Pro Kabaddi: Edachery Bhaskaran steps down as Tamil Thalaivas coach, J. Udayakumar to take charge". Sportstar. 6 September 2019. Retrieved 1 June 2024.
  19. ^ "PKL Season 7 auction: Full list of players bought and their bids". ESPN. 9 April 2009. Retrieved 1 June 2024.
  20. ^ "Pro Kabaddi League 2019: Points Table, Team Standings". The Indian Express. Retrieved 1 June 2024.
  21. ^ "Vivo Pro Kabaddi League Season 8 Schedule And Venue Announced: All You Need to Know". India.com. Retrieved 1 December 2021.
  22. ^ "PKL 2021 auctions: Full list of Indian players sold at Pro Kabaddi auction". Sportstar. 30 August 2021. Retrieved 1 June 2024.
  23. ^ "Pro Kabaddi League 2021-22: Points Table, Team Standings". ESPN. Retrieved 1 June 2024.
  24. ^ "Pro Kabaddi League Season 9: Full list of players bought and for what price". ESPN. 8 August 2022. Retrieved 1 June 2024.
  25. ^ "Back from injury, kabaddi star Pawan Sehrawat raring to shine on international stage". Sportstar. 27 January 2023. Retrieved 1 June 2024.
  26. ^ a b "Ashan Kumar's Tamil Thalaivas success story: Balancing composure with discipline". Sportstar. 12 December 2022. Retrieved 1 June 2024.
  27. ^ "Pro Kabaddi League 2022: Points Table, Team Standings". Sportstar. Retrieved 1 June 2024.
  28. ^ "Pro Kabaddi League 2023: Schedule and results". ESPN. Retrieved 1 June 2024.
  29. ^ "Pro Kabaddi season 10: full list of players bought". ESPN. 9 October 2023. Retrieved 1 June 2024.
  30. ^ "Pro Kabaddi League 2022: Points Table, Team Standings". Kabaddi adda. Retrieved 1 June 2024.
  31. ^ "Narender, Vishal Chahal's magnificent performances help Tamil Thalaivas break multiple Pro Kabaddi League records". Pro Kabaddi League. 18 February 2024. Retrieved 1 June 2024.
  32. ^ a b "Tamil Thalaivas appoints Udaya Kumar, Dharmaraj Cheralathan in dual coaching roles". Sportstar. 16 July 2024. Retrieved 1 June 2024.
  33. ^ "PKL Auction 2024 Updates: Complete squad list of all 12 franchises". Sportstar. 24 August 2024. Retrieved 1 September 2024.
  34. ^ "PKL 2024 Season 11: Tamil Thalaivas Appoint Sagar Rathee as Captain". Fantasy Khiladi. 10 September 2024. Retrieved 1 October 2024.
  35. ^ Tamil Nadu Sports policy note, 2014-15 (PDF). Government of Tamil Nadu (Report). pp. 50–51. Retrieved 1 June 2024.
  36. ^ "Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium, Chennai". Government of Tamil Nadu. Archived from the original on 18 March 2014. Retrieved 4 July 2015.
  37. ^ Sonawane, Akshay (7 October 2022). "Tamil Thalaivas prolong association with Trak Only as kit partner". Sports mint. Retrieved 1 June 2024.
  38. ^ Bhatt, Jai Hemang (18 September 2021). "PKL side Tamil Thalaivas appoint Parimatch as shirt sponsor". Sports mint. Retrieved 1 June 2024.
  39. ^ "PKL 10 Sponsors watch". Sports Mint Media. 21 January 2024. Retrieved 1 November 2024.
  40. ^ "Tamil Thalaivas rope in DafaNews as title sponsor". Sports Mint Media. 21 September 2021. Retrieved 1 November 2024.
  41. ^ "1xBat Sporting Lines extends partnership agreement with Tamil Thalaivas". Khel now. 23 October 2024. Retrieved 1 November 2024.
  42. ^ a b "Tamil Thalaivas partner with FREEMANS to boost kabaddi's popularity". Sports Mint Media. 24 October 2024. Retrieved 1 November 2024.
  43. ^ "Tamil Thalaivas Squad List". Pro Kabaddi League. Retrieved 1 June 2024.
  44. ^ "Pro Kabaddi League: Full list of complete squads of all 12 teams in PKL 11". Sportstar. 17 October 2024. Retrieved 21 October 2024.
  45. ^ a b "PKL 11: Tamil Thalaivas Squad Analysis - Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities And Threats". Outlook. 17 October 2024. Retrieved 1 November 2024.
  46. ^ "Tamil Thalaivas – Squad, Match Schedule, Stats, Records & News". BalleBaazi. Retrieved 1 October 2024.
  47. ^ "PKL Head to Head Records & Stats". myKhel. Retrieved 1 October 2024.
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