Tamil Thalaivas assembled a stellar core for Pro Kabaddi 2019 as it secured Rahul Chaudhari, Ran Singh and Mohit Chhillar on the opening day of the player auction here on Monday.
Tamil Thalaivas head coach Edachery Bhaskaran (right) on the opening day of Pro Kabaddi auction in Mumbai
Mumbai:
Head coach Edachery Bhaskaran was desperate to rope in a raider of the highest calibre, after making unsuccessful attempts for Siddharth Sirish Desai, Tomar and Chandran Ranjit. Rahul is the leading points scorer in the history of Pro Kabaddi and the Uttar Pradesh lad will hope to continue his rich vein of form in the upcoming edition.
Thalaivas also added steel to its defence by picking up Ran and Mohit for Rs 55 lakh and Rs 45 lakh respectively. While Ran is one of the best all-rounders going around, Mohit is a valuable addition in the corner position. TT staved off challenges from Patna Pirates and Gujarat Fortunegiants during its pursuit for Ran, who was a vital cog in Bengal Warriors’ wheel in the last few years.
With PKL making it mandatory to have at least two foreign participants in each squad, Bhaskaran closed out his quota by snapping up Milad Sheibak, who was part of the Iranian set-up at the 2016 World Cup. Kenyan Victor Onyango Obiero, who was retained ahead of the two-day event, will fill the first overseas slot. New Young Players (NYP) Himanshu and M Abishek also joined the Thalaivas camp on the first day.
Tamil Nadu players attract good offers from other teams
Chandran Ranjit will once again don the Dabang Delhi colours as he returned to his former employer through the ‘Final Bid Match’ option for Rs 70 lakh. Bengal added K Prapanjan to its roster after acquiring his services for Rs 55.5 lakh. It targeted the 25-year-old right from the start and outbid its fellow competitors in the process. This is Prapanjan’s fifth franchise in five years, having represented U Mumba, Titans, Thalaivas and Fourtunegiants in the past. Veteran defenders Jeeva Kumar (Rs 31 lakh) and Dharmaraj Cheralathan (Rs 38.5 lakh) fetched over 30 lakh each and joined Bengal and Haryana Steelers respectively.
After missing out on Nitin Tomar, Thalaivas went gunning for ‘Poster boy’ Rahul and landed him for Rs 94 lakh. By virtue of the pick, the Indian international ended his six-season long association with Telugu Titans. The Tamil Nadu-based franchise was crying out for a secondary raider, to support Ajay Thakur, and the move was exactly what the doctor ordered.
Head coach Edachery Bhaskaran was desperate to rope in a raider of the highest calibre, after making unsuccessful attempts for Siddharth Sirish Desai, Tomar and Chandran Ranjit. Rahul is the leading points scorer in the history of Pro Kabaddi and the Uttar Pradesh lad will hope to continue his rich vein of form in the upcoming edition.
Thalaivas also added steel to its defence by picking up Ran and Mohit for Rs 55 lakh and Rs 45 lakh respectively. While Ran is one of the best all-rounders going around, Mohit is a valuable addition in the corner position. TT staved off challenges from Patna Pirates and Gujarat Fortunegiants during its pursuit for Ran, who was a vital cog in Bengal Warriors’ wheel in the last few years.
With PKL making it mandatory to have at least two foreign participants in each squad, Bhaskaran closed out his quota by snapping up Milad Sheibak, who was part of the Iranian set-up at the 2016 World Cup. Kenyan Victor Onyango Obiero, who was retained ahead of the two-day event, will fill the first overseas slot. New Young Players (NYP) Himanshu and M Abishek also joined the Thalaivas camp on the first day.
Tamil Nadu players attract good offers from other teams
Chandran Ranjit will once again don the Dabang Delhi colours as he returned to his former employer through the ‘Final Bid Match’ option for Rs 70 lakh. Bengal added K Prapanjan to its roster after acquiring his services for Rs 55.5 lakh. It targeted the 25-year-old right from the start and outbid its fellow competitors in the process. This is Prapanjan’s fifth franchise in five years, having represented U Mumba, Titans, Thalaivas and Fourtunegiants in the past. Veteran defenders Jeeva Kumar (Rs 31 lakh) and Dharmaraj Cheralathan (Rs 38.5 lakh) fetched over 30 lakh each and joined Bengal and Haryana Steelers respectively.