PKL 2019 : Predicting Tamil Thalaivas' starting seven for the initial matches

Rahul Chaudhari and Ajay Thakur will play for the same franchise in VIVO Pro Kabaddi League Season 7
Rahul Chaudhari and Ajay Thakur will play for the same franchise in VIVO Pro Kabaddi League Season 7

Tamil Thalaivas were amongst the four new franchises who joined the VIVO Pro Kabaddi League in the fifth season. They represented the city of Chennai, which is famous for its Kabaddi culture. However, the Thalaivas have had two disastrous seasons in the league, as they took the last position in both the editions.

They disappointed their fans with their team performances on the mat. Though they had several experienced players in the squad, Thalaivas could not take the maximum advantage of their experience. The Tamil team management had prepared a fantastic strategy heading into this year's auction. They signed big stars like Rahul Chaudhari and Mohit Chillar in the auction to bolster the line-up.

Also Read - Pro Kabaddi League 2019 Auction : Full list of players bought by Tamil Thalaivas

Here's what their starting seven could be for the initial matches of the seventh season of PKL -


Left Corner - Manjeet Chillar

Manjeet Chillar is one of the few Kabaddi players who can play well at any position on the mat. Known to be a prominent all-rounder, Manjeet has focused more on his defensive skills of late and has transformed into a defender who raids occasionally. He is a PKL veteran and has experience of playing in 6 PKL seasons.

Chillar started off his career as a Bengaluru Bulls player before he moved to Puneri Paltan in season 3. After donning the Pune jersey for 2 seasons, Jaipur picked up this mighty all-rounder in the auction. But he was released due to his fitness which led the Tamil Thalaivas to sign him next.

Also Read - Pro Kabaddi League: Top 5 All rounders of all time

The 2015 Arjuna Award winner collected 59 points for Thalaivas last year and thus, he was retained by the team. The Chennai franchise will expect Chillar to perform better this season while guarding the team's left corner.

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Left In - Rahul Chaudhari

The highest points scorer in PKL history, Rahul Chaudhari, was surprisingly released by his former franchise Telugu Titans ahead of the 2019 auction. The talismanic raider has now landed in the Tamil Thalaivas camp and the Chennai fans should be very excited for their team's home leg now. Chaudhari is a running hand touch specialist and he makes the fullest use of his tall height to score raid points.

The poster boy of PKL had a decent season last year, as he picked 166 points for the Telugu Titans. He has played 100 PKL matches in his career and has 825 raid points to his name. The Bijnour boy has even picked 36 Super 10s in his iconic PKL career. These statistics have made him one of the most popular players of the league.

Also Read - Pro Kabaddi League 2019: Top 5 Kabaddi players with the most Facebook followers

Chaudhari will definitely prove to be a valuable addition to the Tamil Thalaivas side.

Left Cover - Ajeet

Perhaps the only position where Tamil Thalaivas do not have an experienced name is the left cover. They have a host of young defenders in their squad who have not played a single match in the PKL. However, the one young defender which promises to deliver playing in the left cover position is Ajeet.

Tamil Thalaivas can try this 24-year-old young gun in the first few matches at least and then decide his future according to his performances on the mat. We have seen young players like Darshan do well for the Chennai-based franchise in the cover position and who knows Ajeet may emerge as the new Darshan of PKL.

Also Read - Pro Kabaddi League 2019: Can Tamil Thalaivas emulate what Chennai Super Kings achieved in IPL 2018?

The franchise has a lot of cover options in their squad so it may not surprise many if they keep on changing their cover defender once in every 5 or 6 matches. This will also help in unearthing the talent they have bought.

Center - Ajay Thakur (c)

The captain and the most important player of the team, Ajay Thakur will take the center position in the starting seven. Though Thakur has been forced to play in the corner positions of Tamil Thalaivas in the previous editions, and the team management has worked hard to get the best corner defenders in their squad for PKL 2019.

This has made Tamil Thalaivas one of the top title contenders this year.

Also Read - Pro Kabaddi League 2019: Top 3 teams which could win the tournament

The frog jump specialist had collected 204 points for Tamil Thalaivas in season six and emerged as the lone warrior of the team. Even in season five, the same story transpired, as Thakur scored 222 points for the team as a one man army.

However, with the likes of Rahul Chaudhari in the team now, one can back the Tamil Thalaivas to prosper as one of the best raiding departments of the league.

Right Cover - Ran Singh

The fearless all-rounder Ran Singh is amongst the new players that Tamil Thalaivas signed in the PKL auction. This move will definitely pay Thalaivas huge dividends as Ran Singh is not only a beast of the defense but he is also an aggressive raider. Though he plays majorly as a defender, he has good numbers in the raiding department as well.

Ran Singh had won the first ever season of PKL as a part of the Jaipur Pink Panthers in 2014. He represented the Bengal Warriors last year where he had formed a great partnership with his eternal brother, Maninder Singh.

Also Watch - Eternal Brothers Maninder And Ran Singh Talk About Their Companionship

The block specialist is one of the most consistent defenders of the PKL. With 199 tackle points, he has an average of 1.89 tackle points per match in the league. His not-out percentage of 81.01 will make him a player to watch out for in the Tamil Thalaiavas side.

Right In - Shabeer Bappu

Shabeer Bappu was the hero for U Mumba in the final of the second season of the VIVO Pro Kabaddi League. His magnificent raid in the end moments of the match had denied the likes of Ajay Thakur and Manjeet Chillar their first PKL title. However this year, Manjeet and Ajay will team up with Shabeer Bappu to stop other teams from winning the title.

The veteran raider was bought for just 10 lakhs INR by the Tamil Thalaivas in this year's auction.

Also Read - PKL Auction 2019: Top 5 bargain buys from the auction

Shabeer has played 60 PKL matches in his career and has 191 raid points to his name. He has even picked up 5 Super 10s. The toe-touch specialist has played for U Mumba, Jaipur Pink Panthers and Dabang Delhi KC in the league before he became a part of the Tamil Thalaivas.

Though Tamil Thalaivas have a lot of younger options in their side, they should give Shabeer Bappu a chance to prove himself in the first few games.

Right Corner - Mohit Chillar

As mentioned ahead, the Tamil Thalaivas have picked the two best corner defenders in India to fill up their corner positions. With Manjeet Chillar in the left corner and the charismatic Mohit Chillar in the right corner, the Chennai franchise will have the best corner duo in this year's PKL.

Mohit Chillar has played 91 matches in his PKL career and has picked up a staggering amount of 240 tackle points, which even include 20 super tackles. He has 17 High 5s as well which makes him a consistent defender. The right corner defender was the cornerstone of the Haryana Steelers in season five.

Also Read - 5 Players who have been valuable for Haryana Steelers in the past

He has immense PKL experience and thus, he will definitely be one of the most vital players for the Tamil Thalaivas.

How far do you think will the Tamil Thalaivas reach in the seventh edition of the Pro Kabaddi League? Let us know in the comments box below.

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Edited by Zaid Khan