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Tamil Thalaivas have announced that Ajay Thakur will remain their captain for the upcoming season. It was Tamil Thalaivas' debut of the Pro Kabaddi League in Season 5 (2017) and they finished at the bottom of Zone B. Out of the 22 matches played, the Tamil Nadu-based franchise could only manage 6 wins and 2 ties, losing 14 games in a disastrous debut season.
Number 7 raider Ajay Thakur will look to lead from the front this time around and turn the fortunes for the Thalaivas. The Baskaran Kasinathan-coached unit has a very experienced unit this time around with the likes of Indian National team regular and veteran PKL player Manjeet Chhillar in their ranks.
The Talismanic skipper Ajay, who was also the captain of the Indian Team which won the Dubai Kabaddi Masters, will look to ensure that Thalaivas make it to the playoffs in PKL Season 6. With the additions of Jasvir Singh and Sukesh Hegde, the Thailavas already look like a much more balanced unit. One of the most promising defenders of PKL, Amit Hooda, has also been retained and will add to the strength.
It will be interesting to see the alliance of Ajay and Manjeet as the two have a fondness for each other, having also played together for the Bengaluru Bulls and Puneri Paltan in previous editions. There is no dearth of leadership in the squad as both Manjeet and Jasvir have captained PKL franchisees in the past. While Manjeet was the captain of Bengaluru Bulls, Jasvir led the Pink Panthers.
The 32-year-old Ajay has a winning attitude and has been amongst the top raiders of PKL consistently. The widely decorated player will want that he can now add a PKL trophy, something which has been missing from his closet. While Tamil Thalaivas had had a poor outing in season 5, Ajay Thakur stood out individually as he picked up 222 points from the 22 matches played.
With ex-captains in the team now, it should prove to be beneficial for the Thalaivas as the responsibility of picking up points will be more scattered. In a recent interview with Sportskeeda, captain Ajay Thakur had said that he is optimistic about the coming season.
Do you think it was the right choice to keep Ajay Thakur as captain or someone else could have been passed the baton? Do share your opinion in the comments section below.
