History
Early Years (2017–20)
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$82,000) 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)
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$280,000). [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)
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$250,000) in the auction. [33] Sagar Rathee was retained as the captain of the team. [34] The team finished ninth in the points table with eight wins from 22 matches and failed to qualify for the playoffs. [35] Nitesh Kumar finished amongst the top five defenders with the most tackle points. [36]
Ahead of the 2025 Pro Kabaddi League season, Sanjeev Baliyan was appointed as the head coach. [37] Ahead of the new season, the Thalaivas retained ten players from their existing roster including captain Sagar, young raider Narender Kandola, and a lone overseas player in Iranian Moien Shafaghi. [38] In the subsequent auction, the Thalaivas bought Arjun Deshwal for ₹14 million (US$170,000) and Pawan Sehrawat for ₹5.95 million (US$70,000). [39]
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