"He is controlling himself" - Rajaguru Subramanian reveals why Fazel Atrachali is not trying for tackles in Pro Kabaddi 2022
U Mumba coach Rajaguru Subramanian has revealed the reason why the team's captain Fazel Atrachali is not attempting too many tackles in Pro Kabaddi 2022.
U Mumba have a relatively inexperienced squad this season. So the Pro Kabaddi team management has asked Fazel to remain on the mat for as long as possible and lead the juniors.
When asked why Fazel was not so active in the defense during the match against Gujarat Giants, Rajaguru Subramanian told reporters:
"No, there's nothing like that. He is leading the team, and there is a little pressure which is why he did not tackle much. He is controlling himself because he has to lead the junior players. That's why he is not going for too many tackles."
U Mumba played a 24-24 draw with Gujarat Giants last night. It was their fifth drawn game of the season. Fazel Atrachali wanted Abhishek Singh to go for a result in the buzzer raid when the scores were level, but the coach asked him to play safe.
"We have to consider the match situation also. Against Gujarat Giants, in the last raid, they had three defenders. It favors the defending team. So I told them to play for a draw. Fazel said let the final raid decide the game, but I said no. He was smiling after the final whistle," Subramanian said.
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U Mumba coach Rajaguru Subramanian reveals why raiders were not so aggressive
Subramanian also spoke about the raiders' defensive approach against Gujarat Giants. Abhishek Singh, the team's main raider, scored only four points in the entire game, while V. Ajith Kumar notched up eight raid points. Substitute Mohsen Maghsoudlou scored a bonus, and Ajinkya Kapre aggregated two raid points.
The coach said that he asked his raiders to play on do-or-die raids only against the Gujarat Giants.
"I told them to play as a team. We don't want more points from one player, but they need to think about making the team win. We played on third raid only and tried to slow the game," Rajaguru Subramanian concluded.