Tamil Thalaivas have released a total of 11 players.
Tamil Thalaivas announced their retentions for the Pro Kabaddi League Season 12 on Saturday. Currently have in their ranks 3 ERPs (Elite Retained Players), 5 RYPs (Retained Young Players), and 2 NYPs (New Young Players, thus adding up to a total of 10.
Tamil Thalaivas had a dismal outing in the previous season, finishing ninth on the table. They secured a total of 50 points in 22 matches, with 8 wins, 13 losses and 1 tie.
Also Read: PKL 12: Team-wise list of players officially retained by franchises ahead of auction
This was a team which had aroused a lot of expectations with their buys in the auction and a strong start to their campaign, but soon faded out.
Consequently, they bid adieu to the duo of Dharmaraj Cheralathan and J. Udaya Kumar, and appointed two-time PKL-winning coach Sanjeev Baliyan at the helm of affairs.
Let’s take a look at the list of players released, retained by Tamil Thalaivas ahead of the PKL season 12 auction.
List of retained players:
Elite Retained Players: Moein Shafaghi, Himanshu, Sagar Rathee
Retained Young Players: Nitesh Kumar, Narender, Ronak, Vishal Chahal, Aashish
Existing New Young Players: Anuj Gawade, Dhiraj Bailmare
Also Read: PKL 12: Top 10 players officially released ahead of auction
List of released players:
Masanmuthu, Sachin Tanwar, Sourabh Fagare, Chandran Ranjit, Sai Prasad, Sombir Mehra, M. Abhishek, Mohit, Sahil Gulia, Amirhossein Bastami, Nitin Chandel
Tamil Thalaivas had suffered a huge blow early on the last time, as right corner Sagar Rathee was ruled out due to an injury. They will be hoping for a redemption for their skipper this season. Star raider Sachin Tanwar, who was the most expensive player (Rs. 2.15 Cr) at the PKL 11 auctions, had a horror of a season, mustering just 64 raid points in 12 matches. He has been released into the auction pool.
Left corner Nitesh Kumar was the standout last season, with 77 tackle points in 22 matches, ending up as the third-best defender. Moein Shafaghi, who was handed over the reins of lead raider late in the previous edition, made an instant impact, scoring 113 raid points in 14 matches. All eyes will be on the two of them for the upcoming season, as they have been retained by the Thalaivas.
A number of key players have made their way to the auctions. Veteran defenders Amirhossein Bastami, Sahil Gulia, Mohit and Abhishek could potentially be donning new colours in PKL 12. Among raiders, Chandran Ranjit, who hasn’t been at his best in the previous few seasons, has been released again. Sourabh Fagare, who made decent contributions in the limited opportunities he got last time, has been surprisingly released.
Tamil Thalaivas will be looking to build their rest of their team around the core players at the auctions on May 31 and June 1 in Mumbai.
For more updates, follow Khel Now Kabaddi on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram; download the Khel Now Android App or IOS App and join our community on Whatsapp & Telegram.
