What’s the story?
As the team from Chennai gears up to make its debut in the Pro Kabaddi League 2017, it is confident of a good showing. They have certain targets for the upcoming season as the team’s coach K Baskaran highlights that the ambition is to make it to the play-offs at the very least.
Speaking to PTI, Baskaran said: "We are confident about ourselves and the goal is to make the play-offs in the first season. It is a homecoming of sorts for me. I had always been asked why there was no team from Chennai in Pro Kabaddi League and now that one is in place, there will be more excitement in the league.
“If we are well prepared, we can expect good results. The pre-season camp will be held either in Coimbatore or Chennai. There are eight Tamil Nadu players in our squad while a total of 19 from the State are in various teams, which is an indication of the standard of kabbadi here. We expect the crowd's whole-hearted support.”
The CEO of the franchise, Varun Tripuraneni said: "I will call it a natural progression. Having bought teams in Indian Super League and Premier Badminton League, we were always looking to expand to other sports. When we thought of owning a team in the Pro Kabaddi League and Chennai was the first preference.
"We were fairly new to the sport and we didn't have a lot of time since our franchise was formed. So getting Baskaran on board as coach was a plus as he has enough knowledge to mentor the players, having been a part in four previous editions of PKL.”
The context
The league, now entering its fifth season, will include a new team from Tamil Nadu. The franchise, which is yet to be named, is owned by a consortium – Iquest Enterprises Private Limited, which includes retired legendary cricketer Sachin Tendulkar and serial entrepreneur N Prasad.
The heart of the matter
A lot will depend on the pre-season camp for the Chennai-based team who have a nice blend of youth and experience. Now that the auction has concluded and the squad has been finalised, preparing for the tournament takes centre stage.
As soon as the team’s name and logo are decided, promotions and training camps will take place. Head coach Baskaran, who hails from Sooliyakkottai in Thanjavur district and was previously with Jaipur Pink Panthers for three years and another year with Puneri Paltan, has the task of getting the best out of the squad.
There are a number of local players on the roster which will no doubt garner huge support in the home matches, which are likely to be at the Nehru indoor stadium.
What’s next?
The team from Tamil Nadu has some definite future plans as they look to promote the sport of kabaddi in the state. They plan to organise programmes at the grassroots level to unearth talent once the PKL season gets over.
Author’s take
Team Tamil Nadu are certainly an unknown commodity and it remains to be seen how they account for themselves in their debut season. Their plans and preparations look to be in place and they might spring a surprise or two in the upcoming season.
